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Recollections 

1837—1910 


BY 

CHARLES  W.  MARSH 


CHICAGO 

FARM  IMPLEMENT  NEWS  COMPANY 
1910 


Copyright,  1910, 
By  C.  W.  MARSH 


Preface 

So  many  memoirs,  reminiscences  and  recollections,  by 
authors  of  distinction,  have  been  published  during  recent 
years  that  a  person  so  little  known  as  I  am  would  nat- 
urally hesitate  to  appear  in  the  same  field.  But  such  pro- 
ductions usually  describe  events,  incidents  or  person- 
ages notable  in  court,  camp  or  forum,  and  no  one,  so  far 
as  I  know,  has  attempted  to  present  the  recollections 

V) 

I  and  experiences  of  an  ordinary  life  through  the  changes 

8 

r   and  advances  of  this  progressive  era.    I  had  not  thought 

^of  making  such  attempt  until  strongly  urged  to  do  so 
4'by  my  family,  and  by  friends  to  whom  I  had  related  many 
^  occurrences — in  answer  to  inquiries  or  as  brought  to  mind 
3  by  some  new  development — which  they  regarded  as  suffi- 
ciently interesting  or  instructive  as  to  be  worthy  of  pub- 
lication.   Such  urging,  and  also  my  desire  to  correct  cer- 
ct&in  misstatements  in  harvester  history  and  some  other 
popular  misunderstandings,  finally  induced  me  to  under- 
take  the  work. 

I  have  told  the  story  of  my  experiences  and  of  circum- 
^stances  attendant,  just  as  these  came  to  mind,  without 
"attempting  to  embellish  with  fine  words  or  amusing  anec- 
eo  dotes,  and  have  confined  myself  strictly  to  facts  as  I  have 
.'them  in  memory  or  memoranda.    I  have  said  little  about 
"^  local  men  or  affairs  because  they  have  been  fully  pre- 

758866 


vi  Preface 

sented  in  the  local  histories.  Very  likely  I  have  made 
some  mistakes,  or  left  things  out  that  ought  to  have  been 
in,  or  put  things  in  that  might  better  have  been  left  out ; 
but  my  friends  have  passed  favorably  upon  the  work,  and 
I  really  think  it  will  be  well  worth  the  reading,  if  only 
on  account  of  such  views  as  it  gives  of  practical  progress 
during  the  last  seventy  years.  C.  W.  MARSH. 

The  Walnuts,  DeKalb,  111.,  Oct.  1,  1910. 


Contents 

CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

Introductory— A  Little  About  Our  Ancestors— Canadian 
Rebellion— Troublous  Times— Benn  Lett,  the  Desper- 
ado   * 

CHAPTER  II. 

Early  Schooling  and  Work  on  the  Farm— Wild  Pigeon  Har- 
vest— Operations  and  Implements  on  the  Farm — 
Housework — Reading  Matter — First  Circus  .  .  .  10 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Old  Stage  Line — Fight  Between  English  Bully  and 
Little  Yankee — Wet  Ending  of  a  Temperance  Meeting 
— Millerism •  .17 

CHAPTER  IV. 

A  False  Start  for  the  West — Move  to  Coburg — St.  Andrew's 
School  and  Victoria  College — Prejudice  Against  Yan- 
kees— Adverse  to  Annexation  .  .  .  •.  .  ' .  23 

CHAPTER  V. 

Getting  Ready  to  Go  West — The  Long  Journey — An  Inci- 
dent on  the  Way — Chicago  in  1849 — Arrival  at  Shab- 
bona  Grove — Appearance  of  the  Country  .  .  .  29 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Getting  Settled — Very  Low  Prices — Trip  to  Madison,  Wis. 
— Bought  Land  and  Began  to  Make  a   Farm — Abun- 
dance of  Game  .        .        .        .        .  .      .        .        .      38 

vii 


viii  Contents 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PAGE 

Farm  Implements  Used  in  1850 — Terrific  Thunder-Storm — 
Banditti  of  the  Prairies— A  Poor  Old  Horse  Thief- 
Wet  Season  of  1851— Chief  Shabbona's  Return  .  .  44 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Shabbona — His  Great  Services  and  Shameful  Treatment      .       52 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Building  of  G,  B.  and  Q.  Railway — Marketing — Adventures 
on  the  Old  Prairie  Roads — Driving  Cattle  to  Chicago — 
A  Wolf  Hunt— A  Country  School  in  '52  .  .  .63 

CHAPTER  X. 

Boom  of  the  Fifties — General  Introduction  of  Improved  Im- 
plements— Expansion  and  Collapse — Wild  Cat  Money — 
Wet  Season  of  1858— Frosts  of  1859  ....  69 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Political  Agitation  During  the  Fifties — The  Know  Nothings 
— Lincoln  and  Douglas  Debate  at  Ottawa — Social  Life 
in  the  Fifties — Amusements — Spiritualism — Esthetic  Ef- 
forts   73 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Introduction  of  Reapers  Into  Our  Community — Invention 
of  the  Marsh  Harvester— Trials  and  Troubles  of  the  In- 
ventors— Failure  of  Harvesters  Made  in  1860 — Success- 
ful Operations  at  Piano — License  to  Easter  &  Gammon 
— Hard  Fight  for  Supremacy 80 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Development  of  Automatic  Binders  on  Marsh  Harvesters— 


Contents  ix 


PAGE 

Marsh-McCormick  Suit — Judge  Drummond's  Decision 

— Esek  Cowan's  Opinion — Leaders  of  the  Industry        .      91 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Rush  to  Pike's  Peak  in  1859 — Extreme  Depression  Preced- 
ing the  War — Great  Crops  in  1860 — Awful  Tornado  in 
1860  104 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Strenuous  Presidential  Campaign  of  1860 — War  Talk  and 
Military  Organization  Generally  Deprecated  in  the 
North— But  Attack  on  Fort  Sumter  United  All  Parties 
Against  South — Belief  General  That  War  Would  Be 
Short — Volunteers  Classified  and  Considered  108 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Demoralization  of  Our  Paper  Currency — Stump-Tail  Money 
— Greenbacks — Shinplasters  and  Stamps — A  Gloomy 
Period  115 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Trip  to  Memphis  with  Bowie-Knife  Potter — His  Collision 
With  Pryor — Horrors  of  War — Case  of  Rodman  Cook 
— Interview  With  War  Governor  Yates  .  .  .  118 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Beginning  of  Harvester  Manufacture  at  Piano — Futile  Ef- 
forts to  Interest  Manufacturers — The  Coldest  Day  and 
Worst  Storm — Assassination  of  President  Lincoln — Re- 
turn of  the  Soldiers — Agriculture  Flourishing — Im- 
proved Machinery  .  .  .  .  ...  .  126 


x  Contents 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

PAGE 

Exporting  Harvesters — How  Girl  Beat  Bully  Binder — Sharp 
Work  at  Ossian — Long  Journey  With  Harvester — Old 
Style  Tooth  Pulling — In  the  Legislature — Wonderful 
Eclipse  of  the  Sun  in  1869 133 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Introduction  of  Harvester  in  Europe — Vienna  and  Budapest 

— Madam    Gerster — Joe   Pulitzer 141 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

International  Reaper  Trial  at  Groswardein — Baron  Barothy 
— Incidents  of  the  Trial — Winning  the  Ducats — My 
Speech  at  the  Banquet 144 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Franco-Prussian  War — Trial  at  Ungarisch  Altenburg — 
Duke  and  Duchess — Interesting  Incident — Trial  at 
Voesendorf — Ludovica  Arrives — Her  Story — Home- 
ward Bound 155 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

In  the  State  Senate — Twenty-Seventh  Assembly  First  Under 
New  Constitution — The  Leaders — Notable  Men  of  the 
Time — General  Beveridge 165 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Hunting  Trip  to  Colorado  in  1871 — Buffalo  Shooting — 
Hunting  and  Fishing  in  the  Foot-Hills — Old  Dave 
Likens — Jack  Slade — Story  of  Indian  Raid — Immense 
Herd  of  Buffaloes  168 


Contents  xi 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

PAGE 

The  Chicago  Fire — Special  Session  of  the  Legislature — Re- 
lief Measures — Retirement  from  Political  Service  .  177 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Wild  Bill — Panic  of  1873— Great  Progress  in  the  Implement 
Industry — Marsh  Harvester  at  the  Front — Invention 
of  Barb  Wire  Fencing 180 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Founding  of  the  American  Field — E.  Troye,  the  Landseer 

of  America — Christine  Nilsson — Tennessee   Claflin       .     185 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Long  Service  as  Trustee  of  Illinois  Northern  Hospital  for 
the  Insane — Institution's  Good  Record  Under  Non- 
Political  Management — Politically  Prostituted  by  the 
Governors — Struggle  With  Gov.  Yates — How  Gov. 
Deneen  Beat  Civil  Service — Resignation — The  New 
Law  Questionable 189 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

A  Wet  Period — Agricultural  Machinery  at  Centennial  Ex- 
hibition— Three-Cornered  Fight  in  Old  Fourth  Dis- 
trict— Gen.  Hurlbut — Senator  Logan — Lewis  Steward — 
General  Fremont  and  Wife 201 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

Operations  of  Sycamore  Marsh  Harvester  Mfg.  Co. — Sale  to 
E &  Co. — Values  at  Time  of  Sale — Proposed  Pur- 
chase of  Western  Lands — Failure  of  E &  Co.  and  of 

Harvester  Company — Values  at  Time  of  Failure — Our 


xii  Contents 

PAGE 

Settlement  for  Harvester  Company — Adverse  Condi- 
tions Following  Settlement — Automatic  Binders  Take 
the  Trade— Our  Efforts  to  Produce  a  Binder  .  .  206 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Organization  of  the  Marsh  Binder  Mfg.  Co. — The  Marsh- 
Whitney  Binder — Unfavorable  Season  for  Introduction 
— Defects  of  Machine — Losses  in  the  Business — Hard 
Struggle — Failure  of  the  Concerns — The  Misery  of  It 
All  ...........  216 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

National  Republican  Convention  of  1880 — Illinois  Contest- 
ing Delegations — District  Representation  Established — 
Grant  and  Elaine  Contest — Logan  and  Conkling  for 
Grant — Six  Days'  Struggle — Garfield  Won  Nomination 
Fairly — Nothing  Said  About  Protection — High  Tariff 
Policy  Adopted  Later 225 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Visit  With  Gen.  Grant  at  Home  of  W.  A.  Talcott  at  Rock- 
ford — What  He  Said  About  His  Candidacy — About  the 
Missionaries — His  Story  of  His  Night  With  Gen.  Cad- 
walader — His  Many  Cigars — His  Free  and  Frank  Talk  235 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Snow  Storms  and  Blockades  During  Winter  of  1881 — Great 
Number  of  Storms  in  1882 — Dissolution  of  the  Old 
Firm  of  C.  W.  and  W.  W.  Marsh — Founding  of  Farm 
Implement  News  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  240 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

Trip  to  Florida  in  Winter  of  1887  as  Guests  of  Colonel  and 
Mrs.  Ellwood — Summer  of  1887  Extremely  Dry — Trip 


Contents  xiii 


PAGE 

to  Mexico  in  Spring  of  1889 — Learning  Spanish  and 
What  Came  of  It — Progress  in  Mexico    ....     245 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

Boom  of  1891 — Mud  Embargo  of  1892 — Beginning  of  the 
Panic — Cleveland  Elected  President — Special  Session  of 
Congress  Called  in  1893  for  Repeal  of  Silver  Coinage 
Law — Panic  Fully  Developed — Repeal  Afforded  Little 
or  No  Relief — Wilson  Law  in  1894 — Causes  Assigned 
for  Panic  and  Long  Depression — Relief  Came  With  In- 
creased Production  of  Gold — Joseph  Chamberlain's  Re- 
markable Prediction — The  Columbian  Exposition  .  250 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

Trip  to  Guatemala  in  1898 — Assassination  of  President  Bar- 
rios— Interesting  Journey  to  the  Capital — The  Three 
Dominating  Volcanoes — The  Three  Capitals — Earth- 
quake Ruins — Many  Attractions  for  Tourists — Destruc- 
tion of  the  Maine 256 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

Hunting  Trip  to  Texas — Slaughter  of  Game — Destruction 
of  Song  Birds — The  Leather-Stocking  Club — Camping 
and  Hunting  in  the  North  Woods  ....  26? 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

My  Little  Park — Successful  Breeding  of  Deer — What  They 
Eat— Best  Park  Fence  for  Deer— Bad  Luck  With  An- 
•  telopes — The  Playful  Buffalo,  His  Longing  for  Com- 
pany and  Fight  With  the  Bull— The  Sand-Hill  Crane, 
His  Belligerent  Disposition  and  Companionship  With 
Cross  Buck — The  Whooping  Cranes,  Wild  Turkeys  and 
Wild  Geese  266 


xiv  Contents 

CHAPTER  XL. 

PAGE 

A  Wild  Goose  Story,  by  C.  W.  Marsh 277 

CHAPTER  XLI. 

Regular  Outside  Work  Necessary  for  Health  and  Strength 
— A  Little  About  Domestic  Animals — Abuse  of  the 
Horse — Individual  Characteristics  of  Animals  .  .  284 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

Drouth  in  1898  Followed  by  Excessive  Cold  in  Winter  of 
1899  Destructive  to  Trees  and  Shrubs — Rough  and 
Irregular  Climate  of  This  Region — Review  of  Our 
Weather  as  Published  Twenty-five  Years  Ago  .  .  286 

CHAPTER  XLIII. 
Contrasts,  Comparisons  and  Closing  Remarks      .        .        .    293 


Illustrations 


C.  W.  Marsh Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

W.   W.    Marsh 24 

Shabbona            56 

The  Old  Marsh  Home — Where  First  Harvester  Was  Con- 
structed          70 

Top  View  of  the  Mann  Reaper 80 

"The  Old  Reliable" — The  Standard  McCormick  Reaper        .  80 

The  Standard  Marsh  Harvester  as  Made  During  the  Sev- 
enties               84 

Hon.  Lewis  Steward 88 

Standard  Harvester  and  Binder 92 

J.  F.  Steward's  Tractor  Binder,  Harvest  of  1909        .        .  96 

William  Deering 102 

Gen.  John  L.  Beveridge 166 

James  S.  Waterman 216 

William  A.   Talcott 236 

Col.   I.    L.    Ellwood 246 

Earthquake  Ruins  in  Guatemala 258 

In  the  North  Woods 264 

Deer  in  Marsh's  Park 270 

"The  Walnuts"— Residence  of  C.  W.  Marsh        .        .        .284 

XV 


Recollections  1837-1910 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY A  LITTLE  ABOUT  OUR  ANCESTORS — CANA- 
DIAN REBELLION — TROUBLOUS  TIMES — BEN  LETT,  THE 
DESPERADO. 

BEING  now  in  my  seventy-seventh  year,  long  retired 
from  active  business,  with  only  a  passive  interest 
in  the  present  and  future,  my  mind  naturally  re- 
verts to  the  past  and  dwells  upon  the  acts  and  incidents 
of  my  long  and  busy  life ;  not  with  much  pleasure  or  sat- 
isfaction, however,  for  in  such  review  I  can  see  little  but 
mistakes,  lost  opportunities  and  failures ;  so  much  that  I 
ought  not  to  have  done,  so  much  that  I  ought  to  have 
done  that  I  left  undone  or  did  badly,  and  so  little  that  I 
did  thoroughly  well. 

But  I  have  lived  through  the  most  remarkable  period 
in  the  world's  history,  the  period  in  which  greater  progress 
in  all  the  useful  arts  and  sciences  has  been  made  than 
during  all  the  ages  before,  and  in  which  great  changes  in 
the  way  of  living  have  occurred;  besides,  it  is  sixty-one 
years  since  I  came  to  Illinois ;  so,  it  seems  to  me  that  what 
I  can  remember  as  a  witness  of  or  participant  in  this 
progress,  these  changes  and  the  development  of  the  coun- 
try, ought  to  be  quite  interesting  if  well  told.  In  attempt- 


2  Recollections  1837—1910 

ing  to  tell  it,  however,  I  have  to  depend  upon  memory 
and  mind  somewhat  dulled  by  age ;  so  with  best  efforts 
to  be  correct  I  shall  probably  make  some  mistakes.  But 
let  it  be  understood  at  once  that  I  am  writing  these  recol- 
lections not  so  much  for  the  public  as  for  my  children 
and  friends ;  if  this  work  gives  them  pleasure  or  satisfac- 
tion I  shall  be  satisfied,  though  I  trust  that  the  general 
reader  will  find  enough  in  it  to  pay  him  for  the  time  spent 
in  its  perusal. 

The  little  I  know  regarding  our  forbears  will  be  first 
in  order.  On  my  father's  side  our  first  progenitor  in 
America,  William  Marsh,  came  from  Kent  County,  Eng- 
land, during  the  great  civil  war.  His  father  or  brother 
(one  of  the  genealogies  says  father,  the  other  says  broth- 
er), Captain  James  Marsh,  was  in  King  Charles'  army 
and  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Edgehill;  the  son  or 
brother,  William,  then  a  mere  lad,  later  became  involved 
in  the  struggle  and  his  "two  aunts,  fearing  for  his  safety, 
Cromwell  becoming  victorious,  prevailed  on  him  to  go  to 
America."  He  was  about  eighteen  years  old  at  that 
time.  He  settled  in  Connecticut.  He  was  severely 
wounded  in  the  war  with  the  Narragansetts  (King  Phil- 
ip's war),  and  after  recovering  married  his  nurse.  This 
was  about  1675.  They  had  a  large  family. 

The  youngest  son,  Matthias,  went  up  into  Vermont, 
there  married  a  Miss  Brigham  and  was  the  father  of  Wil- 
liam, known  later  as  Col.  William  Marsh.  The  latter 
was  an  only  son,  I  think,  and  past  middle  age  at  the 
breaking  out  of  The  Revolution.  Having  had  some  trouble 
with  the  "Green  Mountain  Boys"  on  account  of  his  inter- 
est in  the  New  York  grants,  and  being  descended  from 
an  old  loyalist  family,  he  became  a  "United  Empire  Loyal- 


Recollections  1837—1910  3 

ist"  and  went  to  Upper  Canada,  now  Ontario,  where  he 
invested  largely  in  lands.  He  was  colonel  of  Canadian 
provincials  in  Burgoyne's  army  and  later  he  was  com- 
missary. As  I  remember  the  story,  he  finally  settled  at 
Consecon,  Prince  Edward  District  (lying  south  of  Bay 
of  Quinte),  where  he  died.  One  of  his  sons,  Benjamin, 
and  two  of  his  daughters,  whose  names  I  do  not  remem- 
ber, settled  at  Port  Hope.  His  youngest  son,  Johnson, 
went  back  to  Vermont,  lived  there  many  years,  and  then 
returned  to  Canada,  settling  at  Port  Sarnia,  where  he 
died  about  thirty  years  ago,  having  nearly  reached  100 
years  of  age.  From  his  papers,  as  well  as  from  my  father, 
I  obtained  the  information  which  I  am  trying  to  give  of 
the  early  history  of  the  family. 

The  eldest  son,  Matthias,  was  my  grandfather.  He 
lived  on  a  farm  located  on  the  north  shore  of  Bay  of 
Quinte,  near  Trenton,  and  died  there  about  eighty  years 
ago.  My  grandmother,  his  first  wife,  was  accidentally 
drowned  in  the  bay  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  Trent  in 
1810.  Grandfather  Marsh  was  the  father  of  twenty-two 
children,  sixteen  by  his  first  wife  and  six  by  his  second. 
Ten  of  the  first  lot  and  all  of  the  last  were  alive  when  I 
was  a  child  old  enough  to  know  and  remember  them. 
They  were  all  fairly  well  provided  for.  My  father  had  an 
improved  farm  of  200  acres,  part  of  the  old  homestead, 
and  100  acres  in  grant  from  the  government  as  a  U.  E. 
Loyalist  heir ;  and  the  others  had  farms,  mills  and  stores 
in  that  locality.  But  few  of  the  family  can  be  found  there 
now,  and  only  two  or  three  of  the  name.  Most  of  those 
living  are  widely  scattered  over  the  continent. 

The  genealogy  back  to  the  emigration  from  England  is 
remarkably  brief,  considering  the  long  period  covered: 


4  Recollections  1837—1910 

My  father  was  Samuel,  who  was  the  son  of  Matthias,  who 
was  the  son  of  Col.  William,  who  was  the  son  of  Matthias, 
who  was  the  son  of  the  immigrant  William,  who  was  the 
son  or  brother  of  Captain  James  Marsh  of  Kent  County, 
England,  killed  in  the  battle  of  Edgehill  in  1642.  Mat- 
thias, son  of  the  first  William,  was  alive  in  1783.  He 
left  a  genealogical  statement,  now  in  my  possession,  from 
which  I  have  quoted.  In  Burke's  "Landed  Gentry  of 
England,"  the  Marsh  family  of  Kent  County  is  repre- 
sented as  very  old,  wealthy  and  highly  connected.  In 
very  ancient  deeds  the  name  is  given  as  De  Marisco. 

Of  my  mother's  family  I  know  but  little.  Grandfather 
and  Grandmother  Richardson  were  both  of  U.  E.  Loyalist 
families  who  went  to  Canada  from  the  Mohawk  Valley, 
N.  Y.  She  was  a  Schermerhorn. 

My  earliest  recollections  begin  with  the  Canadian  rebel- 
lion of  1837-'38.  My  father  was  one  of  the  rebels,  or 
reformers,  as  they  termed  themselves.  He  had  attended 
the  earliest  reform  meetings,  had  been  outspoken  in  con- 
demnation of  the  policies  of  the  government  and  had  made 
himself  obnoxious  to  the  authorities  before  the  rebellion 
broke  out.  I  can  dimly  remember  being  frightened  by  the 
threatening  cries  of  the  red-coated  soldiers  as  they 
marched  by  on  the  old  "main  road" ;  but  the  first  incident 
that  has  remained  ever  clear  in  my  mind  was  the  fifst 
attempt  to  arrest  father.  This  was  in  the  summer  of 
1837,  and  as  I  was  born  March  22,  1834,  I  was  less  than 
three  and  a  half  years  old  when  it  occurred. 

It  was  a  warm  Sunday  morning,  and  father  and  mother 
were  getting  ready  for  "meetin' "  (not  "church"  as  we 
say  nowadays).  Two  men  in  plain  clothes  came  to  the 
open  front  door  and  asked  to  see  father.  Mother  placed 


Recollections  1837—1910  5 

chairs  for  them  against  the  door,  which  was  swung  back 
against  the  wall;  then  she  went  into  the  kitchen,  telling 
them  she  would  call  Mr.  Marsh  who,  she  said,  was  at  the 
barn  getting  out  the  horses.  Father  was  then  in  the 
"spare"  bedroom  dressing;  this  both  mother  and  I  knew, 
but  we  had  learned  to  be  cautious  and  I  said  nothing. 
Being  left  alone  with  them,  one  of  the  men  kindly  called 
me  to  him.  Looking  up  at  him,  as  I  stood  by  his  knee, 
I  saw  the  muzzle  of  a  pistol  that  protruded  from  under  the 
bottom  of  his  waistcoat  as  he  leaned  forward  to  pat  me 
on  the  head.  (Pistols  were  then  carried  on  the  breast 
and  not  on  the  hip  as  now). 

I  knew  at  once  what  they  came  for;  so  withdrawing, 
myself  quietly,  I  went  after  mother,  whom  I  found  in  the 
kitchen  wondering  what  she  should  do.  I  pulled  at  her 
gown  and  as  she  turned  to  me  I  whispered  that  the  men 
had  come  to  take  father,  because  they  had  pistols.  Mother 
and  I  went  out  of  the  back  door  and  to  the  rear  window 
of  the  bedroom.  Father  was  shaving  and  apparently  so 
occupied  with  his  thoughts  that  he  did  not  notice  or  hear 
the  light  taps  on  the  glass  that  mother  only  dare  give  lest 
she  be  heard  by  the  men.  Fortunately  a  neighbor,  who 
happened  to  be  at  the  barn,  had  become  alarmed  at  some- 
thing he  saw,  and  started  across  the  field  for  his  home. 
His  course  brought  him  in  view  of  the  men  at  the  door ; 
they,  thinking  it  was  father  trying  to  escape,  rushed  out 
and  after  him. 

Mother  finally  got  father's  attention  and  he  came  to  the 
window.  She  pantomined  the  situation  to  him,  where- 
upon he  carefully  raised  the  window  and  started  for  the 
woods  in  the  rear,  half  shaved  and  without  hat  and  coat. 
When  the  men  returned  from  their  fruitless  chase  mother 


6  Recollections  1837—1910 

laughed  at  them  and  told  them  the  bird  had  flown.  I  was 
highly  praised  for  my  discretion  and  was  given  most  of 
the  credit  for  father's  escape. 

The  months  that  immediately  followed  were  full  of 
trouble  and  excitement.  Father  was  skulking  most  of  the 
time,  and  when  at  home  on  the  watch  against  arrest.  His 
work  was  neglected  and  things  would  have  generally  gone 
to  the  bad  had  not  mother  been  gifted  with  more  than 
ordinary  energy  and  capacity.  She  managed  and  led  the 
work  on  the  farm,  and  faced  the  difficulties  of  the  situ- 
ation, and  the  enemies  when  they  came  to  the  house,  with 
dauntless  resolution. 

In  the  fall  the  rebels  developed  a  plan  for  taking  Kings- 
ton. As  soon  as  there  might  be  sufficient  sleighing,  at 
the  word  to  be  given  they  were  to  come  in  small  parties 
from  all  directions  with  arms  hidden  in  their  sleighs, 
and  were  to  meet  at  some  rendezvous  near  Kingston,  I 
have  forgotten  where,  thence  to  march  on  and  take  the 
town.  When  the  word  came  father  took  his  team  and 
with  apportioned  load  of  men  and  arms,  started  for 
Kingston.  He  got  there,  as  did  most  of  the  others,  not 
as  conquerors  but  as  prisoners;  for  the  plan  was  leaky, 
as  are  most  of  such  plans,  and  the  squads  were  arrested 
everywhere  as  they  were  coming  in. 

Father's  team  and  sleigh  were  confiscated  by  the  militia 
officer  in  charge  of  the  arresting  party  and  he  was  lodged 
in  the  old  stone  jail  of  Kingston.  He  laid  there  five 
months  before  his  trial  came  on.  As  he  was  taken  with- 
out arms  on  his  person  and  driving  his  team  only,  suffi- 
cient proof  for  convicting  him  of  high  treason  could  not 
be  adduced,  and  the  jury  declared  him  not  guilty.  I  can 
well  recollect  his  home-coming  in  the  spring  of  1838,  his 


Recollections  1837—1910  7 

fondling  of  the  baby  girl  that  had  come  about  a  month 
before,  and  my  own  shyness  of  him  because  he  was  so 
strange  to  me  and  so  pale  from  long  confinement.  He 
took  no  further  part  in  the  rebellion. 

Shortly  before  father's  arrival  his  horses  had  made  a 
wonderful  escape  and  returned  home.  They  had  been 
wintered  on  a  small  island  down  toward  Kingston.  When 
spring  opened  they  were  turned  out  on  the  supposition 
that  they  were  sufficiently  confined  by  the  water ;  but  they 
swam  ashore  and  directed  their  course  homeward,  suc- 
cessfully keeping  together  and  avoiding  capture  on  the 
way.  During  the  winter  necessary  teaming  had  been  done 
with  the  oxen,  and  mother  had  been  worrying  over  lack 
of  horses  for  the  approaching  spring's  work.  I  well  re- 
member the  excitement  when  Aunt  Jane  rushed  in  early 
one  morning  and  told  mother,  who  was  yet  in  bed  after 
the  birth  of  our  sister,  that  the  horses  were  in  the  yard. 
Hard-headed  and  practical  as  she  naturally  was  she  be- 
lieved that  God  had  put  it  into  their  heads  to  escape  and 
had  guided  them  on  their  way  home,  and  she  gave  thanks 
accordingly. 

This  Canadian  rebellion  was  so  small  an  affair  that  it 
is  but  briefly  noticed  in  current  histories.  It  was  badly 
planned  and  badly  managed,  yet  its  results  were  far- 
reaching  and  of  vast  importance  to  Canada.  The  chief 
cause  of  complaint  was  the  "clergy  reserve,"  a  provision 
in  the  original  act  of  the  British  Parliament,  establishing 
a  government  for  the  two  Canadas,  which  set  aside  one- 
seventh  of  the  public  lands  for  the  benefit  of  the  protestant 
clergy  and  this  land  the  dominant  Tory  party  was  dis- 
posed to  limit  to  the  Episcopal  church,  thus  to  establish  a 
state  church  in  Canada  as  in  England. 


8  Recollections  1837—1910 

Fortunately  for  Canada,  Lord  Durham,  a  leading  Brit- 
ish statesman  of  the  liberal  party,  was  sent  to  Canada  in 
1838,  empowered  to  investigate  the  causes  of  the  rebellion 
and  to  deal  fairly  with  all  parties  concerned.  His  con- 
ciliatory course  and  disposition  to  favor  the  principal  re- 
forms demanded  soon  ended  the  disorders.  The  settle- 
ments that  followed  conceded  substantially  all  for  which 
the  reformers  fought,  who,  since,  have  been  notably  loyal. 
Comparatively  little  blood  was  spilt.  There  were  two  or 
three  small  battles  in  which  but  few  were  killed;  and 
there  was  some  guerilla  warfare,  led  mainly  by  adventur- 
ers from  the  United  States.  Several  were  hanged  and 
quite  a  number  banished. 

The  most  noted  of  these  adventurers  was  Ben  Lett,  who 
spent  the  last  years  of  his  life  in  the  county  of  DeKalb, 
111.  He  was  the  "Wild  Bill"  of  the  Canadian  rebellion 
and  was  charged  with  many  desperate  deeds,  the  most 
memorable  being  the  killing  of  Captain  Usher  and  the 
blowing  up  of  Brock's  monument  (since  replaced  by  the 
fine  shaft  now  standing  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Niagara 
river  below  the  falls).  As  I  remember  the  story  the 
rebels  had  taken  or  captured  Navy  Island,  above  the  falls. 
They  had  there  a  little  steamboat  named  "Caroline."  Cap- 
tain Usher  led  or  directed  an  expedition  that  got  posses- 
sion of  the  boat  in  the  night,  cut  it  loose  from  its  moor- 
ings and  sent  it  over  the  falls.  It  was  charged  by  the 
rebels  that  there  were  men  left  on  the  boat  to  go  over 
with  it  and  among  them  a  boy,  a  brother  or  nephew  of 
Ben  Lett. 

Soon  after,  Captain  Usher  was  called  to  his  door  one 
night  and  killed  (whether  shot  or  stabbed  I  do  not  remem- 
ber) and  Brock's  monument  was  blown  up.  Lett  was 


Recollections  1837—1910  9 

charged  by  the  Tory  authorities  with  these  and  many 
other  crimes.  He  was  arrested,  but  soon  broke  jail  and 
escaped.  Strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  retake  him. 
Finally  he  was  traced  to  a  farm  house  on  the  lake  side 
of  the  main  road,  a  little  east  of  Coburg.  As  the  soldiers 
filed  into  the  yard  he  ran  out  towards  the  lake  and  escaped 
their  shots  and  pursuit.  That  was  the  last  reported  sight 
of  him  in  Canada. 

We  came  to  Illinois  in  1849.  Some  two  or  three  years 
later  my  brother  on  returning  with  a  grist  from  Elder- 
ding's  mill,  down  below  Sandwich  on  Somonauk  Creek, 
overtook  a  man  on  the  road  who  asked  and  of  course  was 
permitted  to  ride.  Learning  that  my  brother's  name  was 
Marsh  and  that  he  came  from  Trenton,  Canada,  he  said, 
"Oh!  you  are  a  son  of  Sam  Marsh.  Tell  the  old  man 
you  gave  a  ride  to  Ben  Lett  and  that  I  will  come  up  to 
see  him  soon."  But  he  didn't  come;  perhaps  because  he 
concluded,  on  second  thought,  that  it  would  be  better  not 
to  open  any  discussion  of  these  old  matters.  At  that  time 
he  had  a  brother,  a  very  respectable  man,  living  at  or 
near  Sandwich.  I  have  never  heard  anything  against  Ben 
Lett  as  a  citizen  of  this  country.  To  what  extent,  if  any, 
he  was  guilty  of  the  crimes  charged  against  him  in  Can- 
ada I  do  not  know;  but  the  foregoing  were  some  of  the 
stories  current  there  when  I  was  a  boy.  He  died  in  Mil- 
waukee, Wis.,  many  years  ago. 


CHAPTER  II. 

EARLY  SCHOOLING  AND  WORK  ON  THE  FARM — WILD  PIGEON 

HARVEST OPERATIONS     AND     IMPLEMENTS     ON     THE 

FARM   HOUSEWORK  READING   MATTER  —   FIRST 

CIRCUS. 

1WAS  taught  my  letters  and  simple  spelling  at  home 
before  I  was  four  years  old.  The  summer  after 
reaching  four  I  was  sent  to  the  country  school,  dis- 
tant nearly  a  mile;  the  same  the  next  summer;  and  the 
following  winter,  when  between  five  and  six,  I  was  taken 
to  Consecon,  a  village  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  distant, 
to  board  with  an  aunt  and  attend  school  there;  but  soon 
becoming  ill,  from  home-sickness  mainly,  I  had  to  be 
brought  home  to  stay. 

When  I  was  six  years  old  I  began  to  help  on  the  farm, 
running  errands,  driving  the  cows  and  sheep,  riding  the 
horses  for  father  or  the  hired  man  when  "plowing  out" 
corn — which  was  very  tiresome — and  soon  after  reaching 
seven  I  drove  the  oxen  before  the  drag.  Later  I  spread 
and  raked  hay,  helped  in  harvest  and  learned  to  milk. 
My  brother,  two  years  younger,  duly  followed  in  such 
work.  Most  of  it  was  hard  and  irksome  for  boys  so 
young;  but  we  liked  sugar  making,  hay  spreading,  apple 
gathering  and  cider  making.  In  the  winters  we  went  to 
school. 

Our  holiday  or  off-work  enjoyments  were  fishing,  boat- 
ing, skating  and  hunting,  partridges,  black  squirrels  and 
wild  pigeons  (in  their  season)  being  abundant.  Our  hired 

10 


Recollections  1837—1910  11 

man,  who  came  to  us  when  I  was  quite  young  and  re- 
mained until  we  sold  the  farm  in  1844,  taught  me  to 
shoot  when  I  was  seven ;  and  though  I  did  not  own  a  gun 
until  I  was  twelve  I  had  many  a  hunt  with  him. 

The  shooting  and  netting  of  wild  pigeons  during  their 
seasonal  flights  was  great  sport.  At  certain  times,  usu- 
ally in  the  spring,  for  several  days  they  would  be  flying 
over  from  one  section  to  another  in  enormous  numbers, 
alighting  for  food  as  needed  and  then  generally  passing 
onward.  Some  small  flocks  would  remain  a  considerable 
time  or  through  the  summer,  establishing  a  roost  in  the 
woods  and  feeding  in  the  fields,  mornings  and  evenings. 

The  pigeon  harvest  was  about  as  regular  as  any,  and 
the  harvesting  implements  were  gun  and  net.  As  I  re- 
member, our  net  was  about  sixteen  feet  long  and  ten  or 
twelve  feet  wide.  It  was  weighted  with  lead  on  the  ends 
and  on  the  side  that  was  thrown  when  net  was  sprung. 
To  set  the  net,  one  side  was  pegged  down  at  the  edge  of 
the  "pigeon  bed"  (piece  of  ground  smoothed  and  sprinkled 
with  grain),  and  the  net  carefully  folded  along  this  side. 
Two  spring-poles  were  set  on  the  other  edge  of  the  bed, 
each  connected  by  rope  to  the  opposite  loose  corner  of  the 
net.  These  poles  were  bent  over  and  so  fastened  that  a 
pull  on  a  rope,  reaching  to  the  "bough-house"  in  the  rear, 
would  loosen  them  and  throw  the  net  upward  slightly  and 
over  the  bed  and  the  pigeons  thereon. 

To  call  the  pigeons  flying  around  or  over,  a  live  pigeon, 
blinded  by  a  stitch  in  its  eyelids,  was  fixed  to  a  jointed 
bar  or  stool  at  end  of  the  bed,  which  stool,  being  thrown 
up  and  down  by  means  of  a  string  pulled  by  the  operator 
concealed  in  the  bough-house,  caused  the  pigeon  to  flutter 
its  wings  as  pigeons  do  in  feeding  and  thus  to  lure  them 


12  Recollections  1837—1910 

to  the  bed.  It  was  cruel  sport ;  but  it  was  an  easy  way  to 
get  them  in  large  numbers  and  pigeon  pie  was  delicious. 
If  too  many  were  caught  for  immediate  use,  part  of  them 
were  saved  alive  in  cages  until  wanted  for  the  table. 

These  passenger  pigeons,  which  used  to  be  in  such 
countless  numbers,  have  entirely  disappeared  from  this 
zone.  It  is  about  thirty  years  since  the  last  were  seen  in 
this  section.  They  were  so  numerous  only  a  few  years 
before  their  disappearance  that  it  does  not  seem  possible 
they  were  exterminated  by  man.  It  has  been  contended 
that  some  disease  must  have  destroyed  them. 

The  main  road  of  Upper  Canada,  the  old  stage  line 
between  Toronto  and  Kingston,  crossed  the  south  end  of 
our  farm.  That  section  of  the  country  had  long  been  set- 
tled, the  land  was  good  and  the  processes  of  farming 
must  have  been  about  the  same  as  in  other  strictly  agri- 
cultural sections  in  Canada  and  in  the  northern  states 
at  that  time.  Of  our  two  hundred  acres  about  one  hun- 
dred were  under  cultivation  and  in  meadow ;  the  rest  was 
pasture  and  woodland. 

Although  I  was  only  eleven  years  old  when  we  left 
the  farm,  I  had  done  enough  of  its  work  to  remember 
well  what  it  was  and  how  done.  Oxen  did  the  plowing, 
dragging  and  logging — of  logs  to  the  saw  mill  for  lumber 
for  the  year's  use  and  of  logs  for  the  big  wood  pile. 
Horses  did  the  lighter  hauling  on  the  farm  and  on  the 
road.  The  plow,  made  by  a  nearby  blacksmith,  had 
wooden  moldboard  and  iron  or  steel  share;  it  turned  the 
soil  on  edge,  not  over.  The  same  plow,  or  one  of  sim- 
ilar construction  but  smaller,  did  the  work  of  "plowing- 
out"  corn.  The  drag  was  of  the  old  "crotch"  or  "A" 
pattern,  very  heavy,  the  frame  often  really  the  crotch  of 


Recollections  1837—1910  13 

a  young  tree ;  it  was  used  mainly  on  lumpy,  clayey  soils. 
The  square  harrow,  of  the  old  Roman  pattern,  was  prefer- 
ably used  on  lighter  soils. 

Sowing  was  all  done  by  hand,  broadcast.  Corn  was 
covered  by  the  hoe,  the  seed  being  dropped  by  hand  in 
shallow  row-furrows  made  by  the  plow,  and  upon  the 
hoe  mainly  depended  its  cultivation.  Mowing  was  done 
with  old-style  scythes ;  spreading  with  wooden  forks,  and 
pitching  with  steel  two-tine  forks.  The  sickle  was  still 
in  common  use  for  harvesting  grain ;  but  the  larger  fields 
were  generally  cut  with  a  scythe  having  a  gathering  peg 
in  the  snath  near  the  heel.  Not  long  before  we  left  the 
farm  the  "grape-vine"  cradle  and  a  little  thresher  that 
threshed  without  cleaning  were  introduced  from  the 
United  States. 

Timber  and  lumber  were  plentiful  and  cheap;  so  the 
barns  were  large  and  most  of  the  grain  was  stored  therein 
and  threshed  out  by  flails  in  the  winter  or  trodden  out  by 
horses  on  the  big  barn  floor.  The  fanning  mill  for  clean- 
ing the  grain  was  the  only  implement  on  the  farm  that 
might  be  called  a  machine. 

Corn,  which  was  of  the  small  eastern  kind,  was  gen- 
erally "snapped"  from  the  stalk  and  piled  on  the  barn 
floor  for  husking,  this  being  done  at  "odd  spells"  or  in 
the  evenings  and  often  by  husking-bees ;  and  it  was  shelled 
by  hand,  or  partly  pounded  off  the  cob  by  flail  and  finished 
by  hand.  Wagons  (there  were  no  carriages),  sleighs, 
plows,  harrow  teeth,  steel  forks,  hoe  and  shovel  blades, 
etc.,  were  made  at  the  shops  of  the  country  wagonmaker 
and  blacksmith,  generally  combined.  Yokes,  scoops, 
wooden  forks,  rakes  and  handles  were  made  on  the  farm. 
Excepting  the  fanning  mill,  the  outfit  of  implements  did 


14  Recollections  1837—1910 

not  cost  twenty-five  dollars,  cash  out.  In  short  the  meth- 
ods and  implements  were  but  little  in  advance  of  those 
of  ancient  Egypt  and  Rome. 

The  farm  products  were  various:  wheat,  oats,  barley, 
buckwheat,  corn,  hay,  potatoes,  apples,  cider,  wool,  pork, 
butter,  eggs,  maple  sugar  and  garden  fruits  and  veg- 
etables. There  was  plenty  for  the  household  and  consid- 
erable, in  the  aggregate,  for  the  local  markets. 

In  the  house  the  conditions  of  living  had  been  much 
improved  and  made  more  comfortable  than  in  the  distant 
past,  but  the  methods  of  work  remained  about  as  prim- 
itive. When  I  was  about  five  years  old  the  first  stove 
was  brought  into  the  house  and  put  up  in  the  sitting 
room.  It  was  a  plain,  square  structure  of  cast  iron  and 
looked  like  a  black  box  resting  on  pegs.  It  had  griddle 
holes  in  the  top;  but  its  main  purpose  was  to  warm  the 
room  in  winter,  the  fire-place  being  insufficient.  Two 
or  three  years  later  an  elevated  oven  was  attached. 

The  little  parlor  was  closed  in  the  winter.  The  prin- 
cipal resort  of  the  family  was  the  big  kitchen,  where 
most  of  the  household  work  was  going  on.  It  had  a 
great  fire-place  at  one  end.  An  iron  crane,  provided 
with  movable  hooks  for  the  attachment  of  pots  and  ket- 
tles, swung  over  the  fire.  Here  most  of  the  cooking  was 
done.  A  brick  oven  built  outside  was  used  for  baking  in 
summer  and  when  the  weather  would  permit. 

Around  the  great  fire-place  with  its  big  fire,  the  back- 
log having  been  drawn  in  on  a  hand  sled,  gathered  the 
family  in  the  long  winter  evenings ;  the  men  to  read,  eat 
apples,  drink  cider,  crack  nuts,  tell  stories,  etc.,  and  the 
women  to  knit  or  sew.  Their  work  was  always  before 
them.  At  the  other  end  of  the  kitchen  stood  the  spinning 


Recollections  1837—1910  15 

wheel,  where  the  rolls  of  wool  from  the  carding  machine 
were  spun  by  the  women  into  yarn  that  went  to  the  local 
weaver  to  be  woven  into  cloth  for  the  family's  winter 
clothing. 

The  women  made  their  own  and  the  children's  clothes, 
also  the  men's  shirts  and  every-day  pants,  and  they 
knitted  the  socks,  stockings  and  mittens  for  all.  They 
milked  the  cows,  made  the  butter  and  did  most  of  the 
work  in  the  garden.  (I  am  speaking  of  our  women — 
my  mother,  her  unmarried  sister  and  the  hired  girl). 
How  they  ever  got  through  with  all  this  work  and  yet 
had  time  to  do  some  reading  and  considerable  visiting 
is  a  wonder  to  me  as  I  recall  their  doings.  They  had  no 
clubs  or  societies  to  attend,  only  religious  meetings,  quilt- 
ing bees,  weddings  and  funerals;  but  they  sang  at  their 
work  and  they  certainly  were  as  strong  and  healthy  and 
as  contented  as  women  are  nowadays. 

The  local  shoemaker,  carrying  his  kit,  went  from  house 
to  house,  mending  and  making  boots  and  shoes  and  tak- 
ing orders  therefor,  and  the  tailor  traveled  around  in 
like  manner;  but  there  were  no  peripatetic  dressmakers 
in  those  days. 

Our  reading  matter,  as  I  remember  it,  was  the  Bible 
and  Hymn  Book,  Robbins'  Compendium  of  the  World's 
History,  Riley's  Narrative,  Fox's  Book  of  Martyrs,  Rob- 
inson Crusoe,  Pilgrim's  Progress,  and  such  sentimental 
novels  as  Thaddeus  of  Warsaw,  Scottish  Chiefs,  Chil- 
dren of  the  Abbey,  Alonzo  and  Melissa,  Pamela  and 
Charlotte  Temple.  These  novels  were  owned  by  us  and 
others  in  the  neighborhood,  and  constituted  a  sort  of  cir- 
culating library.  They  were  generally  read  and  wept 
over  by  the  women  and  by  most  of  the  men.  Father  took 


16  Recollections  1837—1910 

a  weekly  newspaper,  the  name  of  which  I  forget.  We 
had  no  instrumental  music  except  the  jews-harp;  and 
the  songs  of  the  times  were  mostly  doleful  old  ballads. 

The  advent  of  a  circus  or  of  an  animal  show  was  a 
great  occasion.  They  were  not  then  combined.  When 
I  was  ten  years  old,  after  much  teasing,  father  permitted 
me  to  go  with  the  hired  man  to  a  circus  at  Trenton.  (By 
the  way,  this  hired  man  was  with  us  several  years  and 
until  we  sold  the  farm;  his  wages  were  seven  dollars  a 
month,  the  year  'round,  with  board,  washing  and  mend- 
ing). It  was  Howe's  circus  and  the  clown  was  Dan 
Rice.  The  clown  opened  the  performances  with  a  song. 
This  was  a  long  string  of  doggerel  verses,  to  the  tune 
of  Ole  Dan  Tucker,  describing  the  show  and  making 
some  local  hits.  One  verse  seemed  so  funny  to  me  then 
that  I  have  never  forgotten  it: 

"Some  go  to  riding  schools  you  know, 
For  to  learn  to  ride  I'm  sure  they  go; 
But  to  this  circus  they  can  teach 
To  ride  five  horses  with  a  leg  on  each." 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  OLD  STAGE  LINE — FIGHT  BETWEEN  ENGLISH  BULLY 
AND  LITTLE  YANKEE — WET  ENDING  OF  A  TEMPERANCE 
MEETING MILLERISM. 

TRAVEL  in  that  section  was  eastward  and  westward, 
and  the  means  of  public  transportation,  at  the  time 
of  which  I  am  writing,  were  limited  to  one  small 
steamboat,  "William  IV.,"  that  plied  up  and  down  the 
bay  between  Trenton  and  Kingston  and  to  the  stage  line 
on  the  old  main  road  already  mentioned.  The  proprietor 
of  the  line  was  a  man  named  Weller.  He  was  a  sturdy, 
energetic  old  fellow  and  gave  the  people  good  service. 
Being  an  American  by  birth  or  extraction,  his  Canadian 
employes  thought  that  he  was  too  much  inclined  to  avail 
himself  of  "Yankee"  help.  As  fist  fighting  was  a  popular 
amusement  in  Canada,  and  the  usual  resort  for  the  settle- 
ment of  personal  grievances,  it  frequently  happened  that 
an  American  employe  would  get  badly  battered.  At  the 
time  of  the  incident  I  am  about  to  relate,  an  English 
stage  driver,  named  Jackson,  had  the  run  westward  from 
Trenton.  He  was  a  big,  burly  fellow,  the  bully  of  the 
drivers,  and  had  recently  so  severely  pounded  a  Yankee 
driver  on  the  route  eastward  that  the  latter  gave  up  his 
job.  Weller  did  not  discharge  Jackson. 

Soon  after  an  American,  who  was  working  in  a  nearby 

wagon  shop  and  boarding  at  our  house,  brought  home 

with  him  one  evening  a  young  man  whom  he  introduced 

as  a  friend  from  Watertown,  N.  Y.,  looking  for  a  job, 

3  17 


18  Recollections  1837—1910 

who  would  like  to  get  board  with  us  for  a  short  time. 
As  his  appearance  was  quite  prepossessing,  mother  con- 
sented to  receive  him. 

After  looking  around  for  several  days  he  finally  an- 
nounced that  he  had  engaged  to  drive  stage  from  Trenton 
eastward.  Our  folks  were  horrified.  The  young  fellow 
— I  forget  his  name,  but  remember  his  looks  very  well — 
was  below  medium  size,  of  round,  trim  build  and  delicate 
features,  neat  in  dress  and  quiet  in  manner,  just  the  man 
to  invite  attack  from  Jackson  and  the  others  and  to  get 
brutally  treated.  We  all  liked  him.  We,  especially 
mother,  urged  him  not  to  undertake  the  job,  as  he  would 
surely  be  abused  and  badly  beaten;  but  he  laughed,  said 
he  had  seen  Jackson  and  was  not  afraid. 

The  stages  from  the  east  and  west  met  at  the  old  Ex- 
change tavern  in  Trenton  at  noon.  I  was  then  going  to 
Trenton  to  school.  The  school  house  was  not  far  from 
the  tavern,  and  on  the  days  when  our  friend  was  due  I 
would  run  over  to  see  how  he  was  getting  on.  One  day 
there  was  an  excited  crowd  at  the  door  and  soon  he  and 
Jackson  came  out  together,  with  their  hats,  coats  and 
vests  off,  and  went  to  the  middle  of  the  street  where  the 
crowd  at  once  formed  a  ring  around  them.  I  worked 
my  way  through  and  tremblingly  watched  the  proceed- 
ings. After  some  sparring,  the  big  man  made  a  lunge 
at  the  small  man,  there  was  a  loud  whack  and  the  big 
man  was  lying  flat  on  his  back.  He  got  up  furious,  made 
another  rush  and  was  again  knocked  down.  When  he  got 
on  his  feet  the  second  time  he  was  decidedly  cautious ;  so 
the  other  fellow  had  to  force  the  fighting,  which  he  did  so 
quickly  and  effectively  that  it  was  all  over  in  half  a  minute, 
Jackson  lying  in  a  heap  and  bawling  "enough."  The 


Recollections  1837—1910  19 

little  Yankee  helped  him  up,  led  him  into  the  tavern  and 
washed  the  blood  from  his  face.  Jackson  took  his  lick- 
ing manfully;  they  shook, hands  and  were  good  friends 
after,  so  it  was  said.  Weller  had  found  the  man  whom 
the  conditions  required,  and  the  lesson  taught  was  sal- 
utary. 

In  1842  or  '3  there  was  a  great  temperance  revival  in 
that  part  of  Canada.  Lecturers,  assisted  by  singers — mis- 
sionaries, most  of  them,  from  the  United  States — held 
protracted  meetings  in  the  towns  along  our  line.  They 
had  grewsome  pictures — showing  the  awful  effects  of  al- 
cohol upon  the  stomach  and  other  internal  organs — which 
they  hung  around  the  platform  and  used  to  illustrate  their 
lectures,  the  services  closing  with  the  singing  of  temper- 
ance songs  and  earnest  appeals  for  signatures  to  the 
pledge. 

The  meeting  at  Trenton  was  held  in  the  old  school 
house  that  then  stood  on  the  common  at  the  east  side  of 
the  village.  It  was  a  log  building,  one  story,  with  low 
ceiling  of  rough  boards  loosely  laid  upon  the  beams.  In 
the  rear  end  was  a  small  door  opening  into  the  attic. 
The  meeting  was  well  attended  and  successful,  and  was 
continued  several  nights.  But  it  did  not  please  "Old" 
Starr,  an  anti-temperance  man  by  word  and  example, 
who  lived  nearby. 

He  brooded  and  plotted.  Taking  advantage  of  the 
darkness,  as  the  moon  was  not  shining,  he  managed  to 
get  up  into  the  attic  a  barrel  which  he  partly  filled  with 
water  and  tilted  so  that  it  could  be  readily  pulled  over  by 
a  string  attached  and  reaching  to  the  outside.  So  one 
night  when  they  were  at  the  height  of  excitement  inside, 
the  lecturer  passionately  appealing  for  signatures  to  the 


20  Recollections  1837—1910 

pledge  and  the  singers  pouring  forth  their  most  popular 
song,  the  chorus  of  which  was: 

"Cold  water  for  me,  pure  water  for  me, 
But  wine  for  the  tremulous  debauchee." 

Old  Starr  pulled  the  string  and  the  water  went  down 
upon  the  missionaries,  soaking  them  and  a  good  many  in 
the  audience.  Some  rushed  outside  and  found  the  old 
fellow  near  the  door  watching  the  results  and  enjoying 
his  mischief ;  but  his  greediness  for  all  the  fun  there  was 
in  it  brought  him  to  grief,  for  the  wet  ones  were  angry 
and  they  smote  him  many  times  and  severely.  I  was  not 
there,  but  father  was. 

Early  in  the  "forties"  the  people  of  the  northern  states 
and  in  other  parts  of  the  world  were  greatly  interested 
and  aroused  by  the  second  advent  preaching  of  Captain 
William  Miller,  and  of  the  many  who  had  become  con- 
vinced that  he  had  correctly  interpreted  the  prophecies 
and  the  figures  relating  to  the  second  coming  of  Christ. 
These,  as  they  demonstrated,  fixed  the  time  for  that  mo- 
mentous event  in  1843 ;  so,  as  the  time  approached,  thou- 
sands sought  safety  in  conversion.  Soon  after  the  pass- 
ing of  the  date  some  of  the  leaders  discovered  a  slight 
mistake  in  the  calculations  and  extended  the  time  to  the 
fall  of  1844.  It  was  this  second  wave  of  Millerism  that 
reached  our  part  of  Canada,  and  it  took  in  a  large  portion 
of  our  community. 

To  most  people  of  the  present  day  Millerism  or  Second 
Adventism  seems  so  ridiculous  that  they  imagine  it  could 
only  have  taken  in  the  weak  and  the  ignorant.  But  really 
it  was  but  a  fitting  finale  to  the  orthodox  beliefs  of  that 
time.  It  was  orthodox  then  to  believe  that  the  world  or 


Recollections  1837—1910  21 

the  universe  was  created  out  of  nothing  in  six  literal 
days,  about  six  thousand  years  ago ;  that  all  living  things 
except  what  were  in  Noah's  ark,  were  drowned  in  the 
deluge;  that  there  was  a  hell  of  hottest  fire  prepared  for 
the  everlasting  torment  of  the  wicked  and  unwary;  that 
there  was  a  personal  devil,  the  ruler  of  said  hell,  who  had 
the  freedom  of  the  earth  and  was  persistently  and  suc- 
cessfully luring  the  majority  of  mankind  into  his  hot  do- 
minions against  the  will  or  wish  of  God  the  Almighty; 
that  Christ  in  the  flesh  would  come  to  earth  the  second 
time  accompanied  by  his  angels  to  judge  all  men ;  that  the 
dead  would  be  resurrected  in  material  bodies;  and  that 
the  prophets  did  foresee  and  forecast  events  in  the  re- 
mote future,  such  as  the  coming  of  Christ  and  the  end  of 
the  world.  Miller  and  his  associates  so  believed,  and 
further  that  prophecies  not  interpretable  were  worthless. 
Hence,  they  earnestly  tried  to  interpret  them  and  they 
believed,  as  did  thousands  of  people  of  average  intelli- 
gence, that  they  had  succeeded. 

My  father  accepted  the  Bible  just  as  it  reads,  and  early 
in  1844  he  became  a  second  adventist  with  fullest  faith 
in  the  immediate  coming.  His  house,  as  always,  was 
open  to  the  preachers  and  to  the  faithful.  As  the  time 
approached  there  was  much  of  excitement,  of  praying 
and  singing,  rejoicing  and  wailing  and  looking  skyward ; 
but  there  were  no  such  ridiculous  performances  as  the 
making  of  white  robes  or  the  climbing  of  hill-tops  in  our 
community,  nor  anywhere  else,  I  believe,  unless  by  crazy 
persons.  I  was  there  in  the  midst  of  it  and  know  whereof 
I  speak. 

After  the  passing  of  the  time  most  of  the  converts 
backslid.  But  father's  faith  in  the  prophecies  and  their 


22  Recollections  1837—1910 

interpretation  remained  unshaken.  He  concluded,  as  did 
many  others,  that  the  apparent  delay  of  the  advent  was 
due  to  the  chronological  mistakes  of  men  uninspired,  and 
he  kept  looking  for  the  soon  coming  of  the  Lord,  caring 
little  for  anything  else,  until  the  day  of  his  death,  just 
forty  years  later.  Yet  father  was  an  intelligent  and  fairly 
well-informed  man,  and  on  ordinary  subjects  his  judg- 
ment was  cool  and  generally  sound.  No  man  could  be 
more  honest  in  his  beliefs. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

A  FALSE  START  FOR  THE  WEST MOVE  TO  COBURG ST. 

ANDREW'S  SCHOOL  AND  VICTORIA  COLLEGE — PREJUDICE 
AGAINST  YANKEES — ADVERSE  TO  ANNEXATION. 

IN  1843  one  of  father's  nephews  went  west  and  bought 
a  farm  near  Madison,  Wis.  Returning  he  reported 
so  highly  on  this  country  and  its  prospects  that  father 
and  mother  became  greatly  interested ;  and,  as  about  this 
time  father  found  himself  quite  seriously  embarrassed  in 
consequence  of  having  signed  notes  with  one  of  his  broth- 
ers, a  merchant  in  Consecon,  who  had  just  failed,  it  was 
determined  to  sell  out  and  go  west.  Early  in  1844  the 
farm  was  sold,  subject  to  occupation  for  the  year.  It 
was  estimated  then  that  with  sale  of  other  properties 
there  would  be  left,  after  paying  debts,  about  $4,000  to 
take  away  with  us. 

In  May  or  June  father,  with  a  few  hundred  dollars  in 
his  pocket,  started  for  the  west  to  look  the  country  over 
and  to  find  a  desirable  location.  But  he  did  not  go  far; 
for,  stopping  with  some  friends  on  the  way  to  Coburg, 
where  he  was  going  to  take  boat,  he  attended  an  advent 
meeting  and  became  an  enthusiastic  convert,  as  I  have 
previously  stated.  He  resolved  to  remain  and  await 
among  his  friends  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  Mother  was 
decidedly  opposed  to  such  course,  but  she  could  not  move 
him.  The  result  of  their  discussions  was  that  he  gave 
her  his  pocket-book,  turned  over  to  her  all  his  temporal 
affairs  and  started  out  to  warn  his  relatives  and  neighbors 

23 


24  Recollections  1837—1910 

of  the  approaching  judgment  and  to  urge  them  to  pre- 
pare therefor. 

It  was  fortunate  for  him  and  the  family  that  mother 
had  control  of  affairs  during  the  excitement  that  followed 
and  continued  to  the  end  of  the  prophetic  "Tenth  day  of 
the  Seventh  Month"  period,  some  time  in  October,  as 
otherwise  the  preachers  and  others  interested  would  have 
drained  him  of  the  last  dollar  for  the  spreading  of  the 
great  news  and  for  the  helping  of  the  poor  and  needy  of 
the  faithful;  indeed,  though  mother  did  her  best  to  hold 
on  to  what  she  had,  they  got  several  hundred  dollars  away 
from  her. 

After  the  passing  of  this  second  set-time  father's  anxi- 
ety for  the  saving  of  souls  relaxed  somewhat — appar- 
ently because  the  time  for  salvation  was  not  so  strictly 
limited — and  plans  for  the  immediate  future  on  earth 
were  considered.  Father  left  everything  to  mother,  ex- 
cepting that  he  would  not  go  west  yet  awhile;  and  she, 
although  having  some  faith  in  the  "soon  coming,"  con- 
cluded that  while  waiting  it  would  be  well  to  live  where 
good  schools  could  be  had  for  us  children;  so  in  the 
spring  of  1845  we  moved  to  Coburg. 

My  brother  and  I  (he  was  nine  and  I  eleven  years  old) 
were  sent  to  the  St.  Andrew's  School,  which  we  attended 
about  a  year  and  a  half,  when  I  was  entered  "as  day 
scholar"  at  Victoria  College,  as  was  my  brother  a  year 
later.  They  were  excellent  schools;  for  the  curriculum 
was  not  loaded  with  frills  and  fads  as  in  our  modern 
schools ;  the  individual  capacity  of  scholar  or  student  was 
more  considered  and  less  retarded  than  it  is  now,  and 
progress  was  aided  by  special  instruction  or  by  the  appli- 


W.  W.  Marsh. 


Recollections  1837—1910  25 

cation  of  the  "taws,"  or  other  punishment  as  the  case 
might  require. 

After  the  second  session  of  my  attendance,  the  confine- 
ment of  the  "day  department"  telling  on  me,  I  was  given 
practically  the  freedom  of  the  institution,  with  the  under- 
standing that  I  should  disturb  no  one  and  that  I  should 
get  my  lessons  and  be  prompt  at  recitation.  It  was  a 
good  deal  of  liberty  to  give  a  boy  of  thirteen  at  school, 
but  I  did  not  disappoint  my  teachers.  During  the  follow- 
ing three  sessions  of  my  attendance  I  did  much  of  my 
study  in  the  pulpit  of  the  chapel  when  at  the  institution. 
I  also  studied  at  home  evenings.  Not  once  was  I  rep- 
rimanded for  bad  behavior  or  bad  recitation.  I  gained 
the  first  prizes  in  the  only  two  prize  classes  I  attended, 
Latin  (Sallust)  and  geometry,  and  in  the  usual  report 
sent  to  parents  by  the  Principal  at  the  end  of  each  session 
I  was  marked  perfect  in  "deportment."  This  statement 
may  seem  to  be  egotistical  on  my  part ;  but  I  have  made 
it  simply  because  it  is  true.  This  deportment  did  not 
cover  good  manners,  only  good  behavior  at  school.  When 
I  left  college  in  the  spring  of  1849,  soon  after  reaching 
fifteen,  I  was  a  pretty  good  scholar  for  my  age ;  but  most 
of  what  I  had  learned  has  been  forgotten  since. 

Coburg  at  that  time  contained  about  4,000  inhabitants, 
mostly  of  British  birth  or  extraction — English,  Scotch 
and  Irish.  Our  speech  and  appearance  indicated  that  we 
could  not  be  classed  with  either;  so,  at  first,  we  were 
supposed  to  be  Americans,  and  we  soon  learned  from 
experience  how  strong  •  was  the  prejudice  in  Canada 
against  the  United  States.  Our  neighbors  avoided  us  or 
treated  us  very  coolly  until  they  learned  that  we  were 
more  Canadian  than  they  were ;  and  the  boys  on  the  streets 


26  Recollections  1837—1910 

hooted  at  my  brother  and  me  whenever  we  went  out,  call- 
ing us  Yankees  and  pelting  us. 

Being  country  bred  and  among  strangers  we  tried  at 
first  to  avoid  such  attacks  rather  than  to  defend  our- 
selves against  them;  but  one  day  a  leader  of  the  boys,  a 
sort  of  young  bully,  about  my  age,  came  up  to  me  as  I 

was  looking  into  a  store  window  and,  calling  me  a  d d 

Yankee,  kicked  me.  This  was  too  much,  and  I  turned  on 
him  in  fury.  It  was  then  that  my  training  in  the  field 
with  hoe  and  rake  and  fork  stood  me  in  good  stead,  for 
the  boy  was  as  nothing  in  my  hands.  I  yanked  him  to 
the  ground  and  kicked  and  mauled  him  in  such  rapid  suc- 
cession that  he  was  out  of  the  fight  before  he  had  had 
time  to  get  into  it.  After  that  encounter  I  did  not  try 
to  avoid  but  rather  courted  attack  or  insult. 

Unlike  the  town  boys  I  knew  nothing  about  the  science 
of  fist  fighting.  When  a  fight  was  imminent  I  did  not 
wait  for  preliminaries  but  made  a  furious  rush  and  the 
other  fellow  usually  went  down  and  out  before  he  had  a 
chance  to  put  up  his  defense.  Occasionally  I  would  meet 
my  more  than  match,  but  on  the  whole  I  rather  enjoyed 
this  rough-and-tumble  way  of  making  acquaintance  with 
the  boys  of  Coburg.  My  brother  being  younger  and  not 
so  strong  of  his  age  took  less  part  in  such  enjoyment. 

The  St.  Andrew's  was  a  Scotch  school  and  the  St.  Pat- 
rick's, about  a  block  distant,  was  an  Irish  school.  There 
was  always  feud  and  fighting  between  the  boys  of  the 
two  schools,  and  so  was  there  between  the  college  boys 
and  the  town  boys,  in  consequence  we  were  put  in  the 
way  of  fighting  wherever  we  might  go.  However  there 
was  not  much  malice  in  these  fights;  they  were  looked 
upon  as  merely  boyish  contests  in  strength,  skill  and  cour- 


Recollections  1837—1910  27 

age  and  were  given  little  or  no  attention  by  teachers  and 
other  authorities  except  in  some  case  of  unusual  brutality. 
Our  other  games  and  amusements,  worthy  of  notice, 
were  cricket,  hand-ball  and  swimming  in  the  summer, 
and  skating  and  shinny-on-the-ice  in  winter. 

Victoria  College  was  a  Methodist  institution,  that  is, 
it  was  controlled,  or  supposed  to  be,  by  the  Methodist 
Church,  about  the  same,  probably,  as  the  Chicago  Uni- 
versity is  by  the  Baptist  Church.  There  were  about  two 
hundred  students,  as  I  remember  (and  in  all  the  forego- 
ing I  have  been  writing  from  memory).  The  majority 
of  them  were  sons  of  well-to-do  people  of  the  Methodist 
persuasion.  Some  twenty-five  or  thirty  of  the  students 
were  young  men  who  were  preparing  themselves  for  the 
ministry,  to  whom,  in  consequence,  certain  concessions 
and  privileges  were  extended  that  were  not  granted  the 
others.  This  naturally  aroused  some  jealousy  and  fur- 
nished excuse  to  the  more  mischievous  students  for  play- 
ing their  pranks  upon  the  favored  few.  These  occasion- 
ally would  be  carried  so  far  as  to  attract  the  attention  of 
the  faculty  and  bring  punishment  upon  the  aggressors. 
And  the  steward,  who  furnished  the  food  and  took  care 
of  the  rooms,  came  in  for  his  share  of  troubles.  So  many 
young  fellows  together  would  naturally  be  up  to  various 
mischievous  tricks  and  scrapes ;  but  there  were  no  or- 
ganized hazings  and  no  violent  attacks  upon  classes  or 
individuals.  The  government  was  liberal  and  the  faculty 
had  no  difficulty  in  maintaining  such  discipline  as  was 
required. 

The  prejudice  against  Americans  was  as  manifest  here 
as  in  the  town.  The  engagement  of  an  American  math- 
ematical professor  was  very  displeasing  to  a  majority  of 


28  Recollections  1837—1910 

the  students,  and  some  were  openly  offensive;  but  his 
patience,  kindliness  and  ability  soon  won  their  regard 
and  he  became  one  of  the  most  popular  of  the  professors. 
During  the  Mexican  war  the  sympathies  of  the  institu- 
tion were  with  the  Mexicans.  Had  that  country  been  as 
near  as  the  United  States  many  of  the  students  would 
have  gone  over  and  enlisted.  Two  did  run  away  for  that 
purpose  early  in  1847,  and  they  didn't  come  back. 

This  prejudice  against  the  people  of  the  United  States 
has  long  since  subsided;  but  I  doubt  that  there  has  been 
much  increase  in  the  desire  for  annexation.  The  Cana- 
dians know  what  is  good  for  them  better  than  we  do. 
They  know  that,  although  they  have  not  the  privilege  of 
electing  their  ruler  or  chief  magistrate,  they  escape  the 
unhealthy  excitement  and  general  demoralization  that  ac- 
company our  presidential  elections.  They  know  that  in 
other  respects  they  enjoy  as  much  liberty  as  we  do.  They 
know  that  their  government,  with  much  less  taxation,  is 
fully  as  efficient  as  ours  for  the  dispensation  of  justice 
to  all  citizens,  and  for  the  prevention  and  punishment 
of  crimes.  They  know  that  their  schools  are  as  good  as 
ours ;  that  their  business  and  financial  affairs  are  so  con- 
ducted that  wealth  is  more  evenly  distributed  than  it  is 
here,  and  they  believe  that  their  people  are  a  grade  higher 
in  intelligence  and  good  citizenship,  because  Canada  has 
not  attracted  such  low  grade  people  as  have  poured  into 
the  United  States  from  other  countries.  They  see  much 
to  lose  and  little  or  nothing  to  gain  by  annexation,  and 
they  don't  want  it. 


CHAPTER  V. 

GETTING  READY  TO  GO  WEST THE  LONG  JOURNEY — AN  IN- 
CIDENT ON  THE  WAY CHICAGO  IN  1849 — ARRIVAL  AT 

SHABBONA   GROVE APPEARANCE   OF  THE   COUNTRY. 

IN  1847,  mother,  father  being  still  indifferent  to  tem- 
poral affairs,  sent  by  her  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Hinds, 
who  was  going  to  this  country,  enough  money  to  buy 
a  quarter  section  of  government  land.  He  invested  it  in 
a  piece  near  Shabbona  Grove.  Early  in  1849  mother 
made  a  count  of  our  assets  and  discovered  that  we  still 
had  about  a  thousand  dollars;  and  she  concluded  that  if 
we  waited  another  year  in  Coburg  we  would  have  nothing 
left  with  which  to  get  away.  With  her,  decision  was  im- 
mediately followed  by  action.  She  laid  the  case  before 
father,  upon  his  return  from  one  of  his  evangelizing  trips, 
and  he  at  once  agreed  with  her  that  it  was  time  to  pull 
out  for  the  west.  They  intended  at  first  to  start  in  the 
spring  and  go  to  Chicago  by  boat;  but  as  there  were  re- 
ports of  cholera  from  various  places  along  the  line,  they 
changed  their  plan,  with  result  that  we  left  Coburg  in 
May  and  went  back  into  the  country  to  spend  the  sum- 
mer among  mother's  relatives,  with  intention  to  purchase 
there  an  outfit  for  making  the  trip  overland. 

We  had  a  pleasant  summer.  Along  in  September, 
father  and  Uncle  Hinds,  who  had  been  west  in  '47,  bought 
three  horses,  paying  $40  for  one  and  $50  each  for  the 
other  two,  and  a  wagon  for  $40.  They  made  the  wagon 
box  deeper  and  wider,  fixed  on  a  cover  and  arranged  the 

29 


30  Recollections  1837—1910 

inside  for  the  fairly  comfortable  accommodation  of  four 
grown  people  and  four  children — father  and  mother, 
uncle  and  aunt  and  their  baby,  and  brother  and  sister  and 
myself — and  room  was  found  for  a  goodly  lot  of  things 
besides.  A  feather  bed  was  rolled  up  under  the  rear  seat 
and  things  so  arranged  that  it  could  be  unrolled  upon  the 
bottom  of  the  wagon  box  as  a  bed  for  us  boys,  who  were 
to  sleep  in  the  wagon  nights.  The  extra  horse  was  to  be 
tied  to  the  rear  of  the  wagon,  to  be  used  with  the  other 
two  on  heavy  roads  or  to  relieve  them,  as  need  might  be. 
So  one  morning  late  in  September,  with  many  tears  we 
took  leave  of  our  friends  and  started  on  our  long  journey. 

We  were  nearly  five  weeks  on  the  way  to  DeKalb 
county,  Illinois;  but  we  spent  three  or  four  days  with 
mother's  brother  and  family  in  western  Canada  and  a 
couple  of  days  in  Chicago.  It  was  a  tedious  and  tiresome 
journey,  and  there  was  little  of  incident  or  of  interesting 
scenery  to  relieve  it.  Rain  fell  upon  us  several  times  and 
the  roads  were  often  heavy  with  mud  and  sand.  Yet  it 
has  left  an  agreeable  impression  upon  my  mind.  I  think 
we  two  boys  really  enjoyed  it.  We  had  our  gun,  were 
looking  out  for  game  wherever  likely  to  see  it,  occasion- 
ally shot  something,  and  the  changes  in  the  outlook  as 
we  passed  along  were  enough  to  keep  us  interested.  Gen- 
erally we  stopped  by  the  roadside  for  lunch,  when  our 
game,  if  we  had  shot  any,  would  be  broiled  and  made 
part  of  the  meal. 

The  objective  point  or  end  of  each  day's  journey  was 
usually  fixed  in  the  morning,  and  at  night  we  would  put 
up  at  some  tavern  or  public  house,  where  we  would  get 
our  supper  and  breakfast,  our  elders  and  the  children 
obtaining  accommodations  inside  and  we  boys  sleeping  in 


Recollections  1837—1910  31 

the  wagon  which  was  run  into  the  barn  if  room  was  found 
for  it.  We  slept  without  fear,  whether  it  was  inside  or 
outside,  for  our  little  gun  was  our  bedfellow.  Two  or 
three  times  we  failed  to  reach  a  public  house  for  the  night 
and  had  to  prevail  upon  some  farmer  to  take  us  in. 

One  incident  on  the  way  across  Michigan  may  be  worth 
relating.  One  morning  we  were  told  that  the  tavern  we 
proposed  to  reach  that  night  had  a  hard  name.  The  last 
few  miles  of  the  road  ran  through  a  dreary  stretch  of 
swamp  and  pine  woods,  and  the  little  place,  when  reached 
after  dark,  seemed  sufficiently  forbidding,  as  did  the  rough 
board  tavern  to  which  we  drove  up.  The  landlord  re- 
ceived us  pleasantly,  and  place  for  the  wagon  was  found 
in  the  barn.  When  rooms  were  being  engaged  and  he  was 
told  that  we  boys  would  sleep  in  the  wagon,  he  was  evi- 
dently annoyed  and  said  there  was  plenty  of  room  in  the 
house.  As  we  were  arranging  our  bed,  a  man,  apparently 
the  hostler,  as  he  had  been  fussing  with  the  horses  in 
stalls  at  the  side  of  the  barn  floor,  came  to  us  and  asked 
what  we  were  doing,  and  when  told  that  we  were  making 
our  bed,  he  seemed  worried.  He  said  we  were  too  young 
to  sleep  outside  and  that  we  ought  to  go  back  to  the 
house.  We  showed  him  our  gun  and  told  him  we  were 
not  afraid.  "Well,"  he  finally  said,  "if  you  hear  anyone 
around  in  the  night  you  musn't  think  you're  going  to  be 
hurt."  This  made  me  suspicious  and  wakeful. 

Along  about  midnight  I  heard  the  creaking  of  the 
barn  door,  and  looking  through  a  view  hole  in  the  canvas 
at  the  rear  end  of  the  wagon,  I  saw  a  man  enter  the  barn 
and  very  carefully  close  the  door.  He  slowly  and  stealthily 
came  toward  the  wagon  until  he  placed  his  hand  on  the 
tire  of  the  wheel.  I  distinctly  heard  his  touch  and  his 


32  Recollections  1837—1910 

breathing,  but  nothing  more  thereafter.  He  must  have 
heard  me,  however,  for  my  trembling  shook  the  wagon 
— so  I  thought.  Looking  to  the  front  I  saw  what  ap- 
peared to  be  an  open  door,  which  convinced  me  that  the 
man  was  going  to  steal  our  horses  and  would  take  them 
through  that  rear  door.  My  gun  was  loaded  but  with- 
out cap  on  the  nipple.  The  caps  were  tied  up  in  one 
corner  of  my  handkerchief.  I  bit  through,  took  one  out, 
put  it  on,  cocked  the  gun  and  laid  there  waiting  and  wil- 
ling to  shoot  any  one  who  would  attempt  to  get  into  the 
wagon  or  to  lead  a  horse  through  that  door.  The  nervous 
spell  had  passed  and  I  was  cool  as  ice ;  in  short  the  desire 
to  kill  was  on  me  and  I  preferred  to  wait  and  shoot  the 
man  rather  than  to  speak  and  scare  him  away. 

Thus  I  laid  until  broad  daylight,  having  heard  nothing 
further;  then  I  got  out  of  the  wagon  and  saw  that  the 
open  door  was  but  a  window  through  which  the  moon 
had  been  shining  and  that  the  horses  were  safe  in  their 
stalls.  I  looked  all  around  for  the  man  but  could  not 
find  him,  nor  any  sign  of  him.  Then  I  got  into  the  wagon 
and  went  to  sleep.  My  brother  had  not  been  awakened. 
When  we  went  in  to  breakfast  I  told  my  story  of  the 
night  to  the  landlord.  He  laughed,  said  no  one  had 
sneaked  into  the  barn  and  that  I  had  been  dreaming. 
He  told  father  he  had  better  take  my  gun  from  me  or  I 
would  shoot  somebody.  In  talking  it  over  next  day  we 
concluded  that  the  man  was  some  one  in  hiding  from  the 
authorities  and  that  the  landlord  and  hostler  were  giv- 
ing him  shelter  in  the  barn  for  the  night.  It  was  lucky 
for  all  concerned  that  he  did  not  try  to  get  into  the  wagon. 

The  hardest  part  of  the  journey  was  around  the  end  of 
the  lake  from  Michigan  City  to  Chicago  on  account  of 


Recollections  1837—1910  33 

the  deep  sand  and  the  worn-out  condition  of  the  horses. 
We  had  planned  to  reach  the  city  for  the  night,  but  could 
not  make  it  and  had  to  put  up  at  a  ramshackle  tavern  in 
the  woods  about  where  Douglas  place  now  is,  then  two  or 
three  miles  south  of  the  city. 

It  was  a  quiet,  beautiful  morning,  crisp  and  frosty,  in 
Indian  summer  as  we  drove  out  of  the  timber  and  saw 
Chicago  lying  in  the  distance.  But  what  we  noticed  first 
was  a  long  cloud  of  dense,  black  smoke,  hanging  low 
over  the  buildings  and  extending  from  the  lake  far  west- 
ward, which  gave  us  the  impression  that  the  city  was 
long  and  thin.  To  the  right  was  the  lake,  unruffled  and 
shining  like  silver  under  the  bright  morning  sun.  Directly 
before  us  was  quite  a  stretch  of  flat,  open  prairie,  with 
unfenced  road  meandering  across  it  toward  the  city. 

After  driving  a  mile  or  so  we  came  to  a  fenced  field  on 
the  south  side  of  the  road.  It  was  a  corn  field,  and  prairie 
chickens  were  sitting  on  the  fence,  sunning  themselves 
after  their  breakfast.  As  they  let  the  team  approach  near 
enough  I  slipped  out  of  the  wagon,  got  a  shot  and  killed 
one,  my  first  prairie  chicken.  Then  we  passed  occasional 
enclosures  of  pieces  of  land  or  blocks,  some  under  culti- 
vation and  some  not,  and  houses  scattered  along  the  road 
until  the  buildings  became  sufficiently  close  and  regular 
in  their  order  to  indicate  to  us  that  we  had  entered  the 
city.  We  must  have  gone  in  on  Michigan  avenue,  for 
the  buildings  were  on  one  side  and  the  lake  on  the  other 
as  we  drove  down  to  the  east  end  of  Randolph  or  Lake 
street  and  turned  west  toward  the  public  house  which 
had  been  recommended  to  us.  It  was  the  old  "Sultana," 
a  small,  dingy,  roughly  built,  wooden  building,  but  what- 
ever may  have  been  its  quality  or  reputation,  we  obtained 


34  Recollections  1837—1910 

"good  quarters  for  man  and  beast"  there,  and  were  satis- 
fied with  the  charges. 

The  population  of  Chicago  in  1849  was  a  little  over 
20,000.  The  city  was  built  on  the  original  surface,  a  little 
above  the  level  of  the  sluggish  river,  and  was  strung  out 
from  the  lake  westward  along  the  river  and  its  branches, 
extending  farthest  on  the  south  branch.  The  business 
portion  was  mostly  on  the  south  side  between  the  lake 
and  the  junction  of  the  branches.  The  buildings  were 
nearly  all  of  wood  and  of  cheap  construction,  in  material, 
workmanship  and  finish,  and  they  were  notably  dingy  on 
account  of  the  soft  coal  smoke  and  the  dust  from  the  un- 
paved  streets,  which  latter  were  generally  rough  and  rut- 
ted, muddy  under  rain  and  abominably  dusty  when  dry. 
It  was  a  lively  business  place,  but  dirty,  ragged  and  in  no 
respect  handsome.  Its  business  feeders  were  the  lake,  the 
Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  and  the  wagons  and  stages 
from  the  country,  westward  especially.  Its  only  railway 
was  that  part  of  the  old  Chicago  and  Galena  road  which 
had  reached  Elgin. 

After  cleaning  up  and  taking  a  short  rest  we  went  out 
to  see  the  town.  We  went  down  toward  the  mouth  of 
the  river  and  saw  old  Fort  Dearborn,  that  is,  the  old  block 
house  left  standing  solitary  in  its  bare  lot.  It  brought  to 
mind  the  massacre  of  1812,  across  the  bloody  ground  of 
which  we  had  ridden  that  morning,  whose  story  I  had 
read  when  trying  to  learn  something  of  the  country  to 
which  we  were  intending  to  go.  Then  we  turned  west- 
ward along  the  river.  We  were  much  interested  in  the 
many  and  various  vessels  lying  in  the  sluggish  stream. 
We  went  up  as  far  as  the  junction  of  the  two  branches, 
turned  south  to  see  the  old  market  and  then  around  back 


Recollections  1837—1910  35 

to  the  tavern.  A  public  house  was  seldom  called  hotel 
in  those  days. 

Father  had  exchanged  our  Canadian  money  at  Detroit 
and  taken  a  draft  for  $600  on  one  Kinzie  or  Kedzie,  T 
forget  which,  and  next  morning  he  and  I  started  out  to 
get  it  cashed.  We  found  the  man  in  his  office.  He  mani- 
fested at  once  a  much  stronger  disposition  to  sell  us  Chi- 
cago property  than  to  pay  the  money.  Father  told  him 
we  did  not  want  to  stop  in  Chicago,  but  were  going 
farther  west  and  on  a  farm.  Then  he  advised  us  to  locate 
near  the  city,  where  there  was  always  a  market,  and  said 
he  had  a  nice  forty  just  west  of  town  which  he  would  sell 
us  for  the  $600.  He  persuaded  father  to  consent  to  look 
at  it  before  going  onward.  We  hitched  up  and  all,  ex- 
cept aunt  and  her  baby,  drove  out  over  Randolph  street 
bridge  and  about  a  mile  beyond,  where  the  man  sent  with 
us  showed  us  the  forty  and  expatiated  on  its  possibilities ; 
but  the  road  was  so  rough  and  bad,  the  land  so  flat,  and 
the  outlook  around  and  beyond  so  dreary,  that  none  of  us 
had  the  least  desire  to  possess  it.  We  refused  the  offer 
and  got  our  money. 

Next  morning  we  started  out  on  the  old  stage  road,  via 
Naperville  and  Aurora  for  Shabbona  Grove,  sixty  miles 
distant.  When  we  had  crossed  the  wide  flat  and  climbed 
the  ridge  beyond  Lyons  and  beheld  the  real  prairie  with 
its  gentle  undulations,  its  waving  grass,  its  black,  rich  soil, 
as  shown  in  the  fields,  and  the  brown  groves  in  the  dis- 
tance, all  under  a  soft  Indian  summer  sun,  with  a  good 
road  before  us,  we  were  delighted,  transported,  and  father 
rose  from  his  seat  and  thanked  God  for  our  deliverance 
from  "that  Chicago  shark." 

We  stopped  overnight  at  Naperville  at  a  tavern  then 


36  Recollections  1837—1910 

kept  by  Robert  Bonney,  the  man  who,  some  four  or  five 
years  before,  had  hunted  down  and  brought  to  justice  the 
murderers  of  Col.  Davenport,  of  Rock  Island,  and  in  so 
doing  had  broken  up  an  organization  of  horse-thieves  and 
robbers,  the  members  of  which,  scattered  over  Illinois 
and  northern  Missouri,  had  been  depredating  upon  the 
settlers  with  almost  absolute  impunity  for  several  years. 
A  very  interesting  account  of  their  doings  and  of  his 
adventures  while  on  their  track  is  given  in  his  book,  "The 
Banditti  of  the  Prairie."  Mr.  Bonney  was  a  large  and 
good  looking  man,  then  in  the  prime  of  manhood.  The 
next  day  we  passed  through  Aurora  and  put  up  for  the 
night  with  a  relative  of  my  uncle,  and  in  the  following 
afternoon  drove  up  to  the  log  cabin  of  my  uncle's  brother, 
near  Shabbona  Grove,  where  our  long  journey  ended. 

We  spent  the  next  day  in  looking  over  our  new  country. 
It  was  ideal  Indian  summer  weather.  We  were  delighted 
with  the  prairie,  with  its  breadth,  its  freshness  and  its 
freedom.  We  went  up  on  "Holbrook's  Knoll,"  a  height 
a  short  distance  southwest  of  the  present  village  of  Wat- 
erman, and  from  that  elevated  point  surveyed  the  land. 
Southward  an  immense  tract  of  treeless,  undulating  prai- 
rie, dotted  by  scattered  cabins  near  the  timber,  was  spread 
out  before  us,  the  view  bounded  by  Shabbona  Grove, 
Pritchard's  Grove  and  Ross  Grove  to  the  right,  by  Indian 
Creek  timber  in  front  and  by  Somonauk  timber  to  the  left. 
Eastward  was  Squaw  Grove  and  northward  was  the 
boundless  prairie,  the  view  in  that  direction  unbroken  by 
house  or  tree  so  far  as  the  eye  could  reach. 

Few  of  the  old  settlers  are  left  who  can  remember  the 
virgin  prairies  of  Illinois  as  they  were  sixty  or  seventy 
years  ago ;  and  those  living  on  them  now,  who  saw  them 


Recollections  1837—1910  37 

not  in  the  early  days,  can  scarcely  realize  how  they  looked. 
Fences  and  buildings  and  plantings  of  trees  interrupt  in 
every  direction  the  clean  sweep  of  the  eye ;  and  in  summer 
time  the  view  is  bounded  by  timber,  apparently,  the 
orchards  and  planted  groves  on  the  farms  blending  in 
the  distance  and  to  the  eye  forming  a  continuous  belt 
along  the  horizon.  The  climate  of  this  prairie  country 
has  not  suffered  through  destruction  of  its  timber,  for 
there  is  far  more  foliage  to-day  than  there  was  sixty 
years  ago. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

GETTING    SETTLED VERY    LOW    PRICES — TRIP   TO    MADISON, 

WIS. BOUGHT  LAND  AND  BEGAN  TO  MAKE  A  FARM — 

ABUNDANCE  OF  GAME. 

UNCLE  was  taken  in  by  his  brother  and  we  had  to 
hunt  for  permanent  shelter.  Fortunately,  on  the 
farm  adjoining  our  piece  of  land  there  were  two 
log  houses,  one  of  which  was  unoccupied,  and  a  cash  offer 
of  $50  to  the  owner  obtained  the  use  of  it  and  forty  acres 
of  land  for  the  coming  year.  The  house  or  cabin  was 
fourteen  by  eighteen  feet,  one  room  below  and  attic 
reached  by  ladder,  with  "puncheon"  floors  and  roof  of 
oak  "shakes."  It  was  made  as  comfortable  as  possible 
by  careful  cleaning  and  outside  filling  of  crevices  with 
clay  mortar.  Meantime  furniture  and  other  necessary 
things  had  been  bought  in  Aurora  and  we  moved  in,  glad 
enough  to  get  housed  again. 

Then  we  laid  in  a  stock  of  provisions  and  of  feed  for 
our  horses,  paying  $1.50  for  dressed  pork,  8  cents  per 
pound  for  butter,  8  cents  per  dozen  for  eggs,  25  cents  per 
bushel  for  potatoes,  50  cents  for  wheat,  15  cents  for  corn 
and  a  shilling  for  oats.  A  good  cow  was  bought  for  $9. 
Another  trip  had  to  be  made  to  Aurora,  with  a  grist  of 
wheat  and  corn,  and  for  more  furniture. 

Being  now  fully  settled  we  began  to  look  around  for 
more  land.  We  were  offered  a  piece  next  to  ours  for  $3 
per  acre.  We  did  not  buy  at  once,  because  we  wanted  to 
visit  our  relative  near  Madison,  Wis.,  and  to  see  more  of 

38 


Recollections  1837—1910  39 

the  country  before  locating  permanently.  With  this  in 
view  father  had  built  a  "jumper,"  a  light  sleigh  made  of 
small  poles,  the  runners  shaved  and  bent  to  required  slant, 
and  provided  with  necessary  box  and  seats.  Snow  fell 
heavily  soon  after  the  middle  of  December.  Sleighing 
became  good  about  the  20th,  and  we  started  on  our  trip 
north,  though  warned  by  the  older  settlers  that  no  de- 
pendence could  be  put  on  sleighing  in  this  country.  But 
we  had  lived  where  snow,  when  it  fell,  usually  staid  on 
till  spring;  so  we  took  the  chance,  which  luckily  favored 
us,  as  the  snow  did  not  go  off  until  after  the  holidays. 

From  the  house,  about  a  mile  east  of  the  north  end  of 
Shabbona  Grove,  the  road  was  but  little  better  than  a 
trail  across  the  prairie  toward  Sycamore,  the  first  fifteen 
miles  without  a  house;  then  we  had  the  south  end  of 
Huntley's  Grove  (the  site  of  DeKalb)  about  a  mile  to  our 
left,  where  two  or  three  houses  or  cabins  could  be  seen, 
and  three  or  four  miles  farther  we  turned  around  the 
corner  of  the  old  graveyard,  nearly  opposite  the  J.  S. 
Waterman  place,  into  Somonauk  street,  Sycamore,  and 
drove  down  to  the  Mansion  House  for  dinner.  Between 
Sycamore  and  Genoa  the  country  was  pretty  well  settled ; 
northward  from  Genoa  it  was  a  broad  wild  prairie  with 
no  houses  until  near  Marengo,  in  which  little  town  we 
stopped  for  the  night.  Beyond,  it  was  mostly  an  "oak- 
opening"  country  till  we  reached  Big  Foot  prairie  at  the 
west  end  of  Lake  Geneva,  which  was  then  surrounded  by 
forest,  with  no  settlement  in  sight  from  the  west  end. 

In  crossing  a  prairie  between  Big  Foot  and  Whitewater 
we  passed  through  a  field  of  standing  straw,  the  heads 
of  grain  having  been  cut  off  and  the  tops  left  as  level  as  a 
floor.  We  could  not  understand  it.  We  had  heard  of 


40  Recollections  1837—1910 

reapers,  but  supposed  that  they  cut  near  the  ground.  On 
the  farther  side  was  a  house  and  in  the  yard,  standing  in 
the  snow,  was  a  big  strange  machine.  We  halted  to  ex- 
amine it  and  were  told  by  the  man  of  the  house  that  it 
was  an  Esterly  header,  made  at  Whitewater.  We  stopped 
at  Whitewater  a  couple  of  days  with  mother's  brother  and 
then  went  on  to  Madison. 

Our  relative's  farm  was  on  a  small  prairie  a  few  miles 
south  of  the  city.  He  tried  to  induce  us  to  settle  there ; 
but  the  price 'of  land  was  too  high,  and  we  thought  it 
was  too  far  north.  So,  after  a  few  days'  visit  we  returned 
to  Illinois,  well  satisfied  that  we  could  do  no  better  than 
to  locate  where  we  had  already  made  a  beginning.  We 
immediately  bought  the  piece  of  land  previously  men- 
tioned and  began  the  work  necessary  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  farm. 

The  snow  went  off  early  in  January  and  there  was  no 
more  sleighing  that  winter;  but  the  weather  was  cold 
and  dry,  and  the  roads  soon  became  excellent  and  so  re- 
mained until  spring.  My  brother  was  nearly  fourteen 
years  old  and  I  nearly  sixteen.  With  father  in  the  lead 
we  took  to  the  work  like  men.  Provided  with  axes  and 
saw  we  went  daily  to  our  wood-lot,  a  mile  and  half  dis- 
tant, cut  down  the  big  trees,  sawed  and  split  them  into 
rails,  posts  and  pickets.  These  we  hauled  onto  the  place 
as  fast  as  they  were  ready;  and  at  the  opening  of  spring 
we  had  enough  stuff  cut  to  inclose  a  hundred  acres,  by 
joining  neighbors'  fences,  and  such  inclosure  was  accomp- 
lished during  the  year.  Meantime  we  cultivated  the  forty 
acres,  harvested  the  crops  and  broke  twenty-five  acres  on 
our  own  place.  We  also  hauled  material  from  Aurora 
for  a  small  house  and  hired  a  carpenter  to  put  it  up.  It 


Recollections  1837—1910  41 

was  but  a  shell,  clapboarded  and  not  plastered,  in  which 
we  had  to  live  two  years  before  we  could  build  and  get 
into  a  new  and  better  one. 

During  this  first  winter,  we,  my  brother  and  I,  as  father 
never  fired  a  gun,  shot  many  prairie  chickens  and  quails, 
just  as  many  as  we  needed  or  could  use;  for  they  were 
in  such  numbers  that  little  skill  was  required  in  shooting 
them,  which  we  did  mostly  on  our  way  to  and  from  the 
wood-lot.  Thus  we  were  supplied  with  fresh  meat. 
Mother  seldom  had  to  use  more  than  the  breasts  of  the 
chickens,  which  she  sliced  and  fried  or  broiled  as  steaks. 
Chickens  would  frequently  light  on  the  house,  on  the 
straw  roof  of  the  prairie  stable  and  on  the  cow-yard  fence. 
Quails  did  not  venture  so  far  out.  They  wintered  in  the 
hazel  brush  (which  then  edged  or  bordered  all  the  tim- 
ber), as  there  was  little  or  no  cover  for  them  beyond. 
Squirrels  and  rabbits  were  plentiful,  but  we  did  not  care 
to  eat  either. 

We  looked  for  deer  or  signs  of  them  but  did  not  find  a 
track  in  the  grove  or  on  the  prairie.  In  fact  I  have  never 
seen  a  wild  deer  in  DeKalb  county,  though  I  hunted  for 
them  a  good  deal  in  those  early  days.  I  did  find  and  fol- 
low the  tracks  of  three  in  Somonauk  timber  in  the  winter 
of  '51,  but  could  not  get  sight  of  them ;  and  I  found  the 
bed  of  one  in  the  grass  once  when  I  was  hunting  ducks 
far  out  on  the  prairie.  Undoubtedly  there  had  been  very 
many  deer  in  this  country  prior  to  the  winter  of  1842 
when  the  deep  snow,  crusted,  made  them  easy  victims  to 
their  butchers — men  and  wolves.  The  comparatively  few 
that  survived,  and  their  increase,  were  slaughtered  under 
similar  conditions  in  the  winter  of  1848. 

That  buffaloes   in  large   numbers   had   roamed   these 


42  Recollections  1837—1910 

prairies  not  so  very  long  before  was  evidenced  by  their 
many  bones,  and  skulls  with  the  horns  attached,  that  were 
to  be  found  near  watering  places,  leading  to  which  were 
still  to  be  seen  their  deep  paths  in  the  sod,  sixty  years  ago. 
I  was  told  that  Shabbona,  an  Indian  chief,  said  that  they 
were  numerous  prior  to  the  winter  of  1809,  when  they 
were  killed  off  by  the  severe  cold  and  deep  snow. 

We  arrived  too  late  in  the  fall  to  find  many  water  fowls 
in  the  country.  They  had  gone  south  for  the  winter ;  and 
it  was  not  until  after  their  return  in  the  spring  that  we 
realized  what  varieties  and  quantities  there  were  of  them. 
A  short  distance  northward  from  the  place  on  which  we 
were  living  was  a  long  range  or  chain  of  sloughs,  some 
deep  and  some  shallow  (all  drained  out  since  and  con- 
verted into  good  farm  land)  which  appeared  to  have  been 
long  the  resort  of  every  species  of  water  fowl  that  visited 
this  country.  Here  in  the  spring  congregated  geese, 
ducks,  cranes,  curlews,  snipe,  plovers,  rails,  herons,  etc., 
in  great  numbers  and  varieties.  And  early  in  the  morn- 
ings of  the  first  soft  days  of  April  their  cries  and  calls, 
mingled  with  the  crowing  of  prairie  cocks  and  the  cack- 
ling of  their  hens,  made  a  medley  of  noises  that  cannot  be 
described.  It  was  a  "Halleluiah  of  the  Birds,"  not  very 
musical  but  extremely  pleasant  to  the  ears  of  sportsmen. 

Excepting  the  geese,  all  these  birds  found  such  cover 
on  the  prairie  as  they  required  for  their  nests  and  the 
rearing  of  their  young.  In  short  our  virgin  prairies 
swarmed  with  such  game  birds ;  and  they  decreased  grad- 
ually as  they  were  driven  farther  back  by  man's  increas- 
ing occupancy  of  the  land,  until  finally  there  was  no  place 
left  for  them.  Of  the  small  birds  there  were  few  upon 
the  wild  prairie  or  about  our  early  prairie  homes.  They 


Recollections  1837—1910  43 

came  later  as  trees  and  orchards  were  planted  and  grew ; 
and  they  too  have  greatly  decreased  during  late  years,  as 
crows  have  increased  and  guns  in  the  hands  of  boys  have 
become  more  common. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

FARM  IMPLEMENTS  USED  IN  1850 — TERRIFIC  THUNDER- 
STORM— BANDITTI  OF  THE  PRAIRIES — A  POOR  OLD 
HORSE  THIEF — WET  SEASON  OF  1851 — CHIEF  SHABBO- 
NA'S  RETURN. 

THE  spring  of  1850  opened  early  with  conditions 
favorable  to  operations  on  the  farm.  It  was  then 
nearly  six  years  since  we  had  left  the  farm  in  Can- 
ada, and,  as  we  bought  the  implements  required  for  our 
work  in  this  country,  our  attention  was  particularly  called 
to  the  changes  and  improvements.  The  utter  failure  of 
the  old  eastern  plow,  with  wooden  moldboard  and  steel 
share,  to  meet  the  requirements  of  prairie  soil,  and  the 
very  unsatisfactory  work  of  the  ordinary  cast  iron  plow, 
had  resulted  in  the  production  by  John  Deere  and  others 
of  steel  plows  and  later  of  Oliver  chilled  plows,  which 
would  turn  the  soil  over,  and  would  scour,  that  is,  keep 
bright  and  clean.  Such  plows,  as  made  in  those  early 
days,  were  about  as  effective  as  those  now  on  the  market. 
As  there  were  no  stumps  nor  fixed  stones  to  avoid,  the 
Roman  harrow  had  been  doubled  or  jointed  so  as  to  give 
it  greater  spread  and  adjustability.  Harrows  were  made 
by  the  local  blacksmith ;  so  were  the  rod  plows  for  break- 
ing the  prairie  sod  and  the  shovel  plows  for  "plowing 
out"  corn — this  work  was  not  yet  termed  "cultivating." 
Scythes  and  cradles  were  substantially  the  same  as  in  Can- 
ada when  we  left.  Mowers  were  unknown. 

One  McCormick  reaper  had  been  introduced  the  sum- 

44 


Recollections  1837—1910  45 

mer  before,  but  not  favorably  received,  chiefly  because 
very  few  farmers  were  disposed  to  raise  enough  grain  at 
prevailing  prices  to  need  a  reaper.  The  little  thresher 
that  merely  beat  the  grain  from  the  straw  had  been  gen- 
erally succeeded  by  the  combined  thresher  and  separator, 
having  capacity  of  about  200  bushels  of  wheat  or  400 
bushels  of  oats  per  day.  Corn  shelters  were  known  but 
not  yet  in  use  in  our  neighborhood.  Grain  was  sown  by 
hand.  Corn  was  planted  by  hand  and  hoe,  and  upon  the 
hoe  mainly  depended  its  cultivation.  Our  outfit  for  the 
season  was  stubble  plow,  harrow,  breaking  plow,  single- 
shovel  plow  for  corn,  two  hoes,  two  forks,  two  rakes,  a 
scythe,  a  cradle,  a  spade  and  a  scoop.  These  tools  had 
been  much  improved,  and  as  made  at  the  factories  were 
provided  with  handles. 

On  the  18th  day  of  August,  1850,  began  a  series  of  the 
most  terrific  thunder-storms  ever  known  in  this  section. 
Generally,  the  summer  had  been  hot  and  dry,  the  heat  in- 
creasing down  to  the  date  given.  Toward  evening  that 
day  a  very  black  cloud  arose  in  the  west,  and  rapidly 
moving  upward  and  over,  soon  covered  the  heavens,  when 
the  lightning,  thunder  and  rain  broke  forth  with  extraor- 
dinary violence  and  so  continued  without  any  interruption 
until  morning.  The  lightning  kept  the  one  lower  room 
of  our  house,  the  log  cabin  we  had  rented,  almost  as  light 
as  day.  The  rain  overflowed  the  shakes  and  was  driven 
in  between  the  logs  so  as  to  inundate  the  floor.  We  were 
all  forced  to  climb  upon  the  one  bed  in  the  room,  fortu- 
nately located  in  a  corner  where  the  leakage  was  least. 
Upon  that  we  huddled  together  without  attempting  to 
sleep  until  the  storm  halted  in  the  morning. 

An  empty  twelve-quart  pail  in  the  yard  had  been  filled 


46  Recollections  1837—1910 

to  overflowing.  In  a  pasture  across  the  road,  a  few  rods 
from  the  house,  laid  three  cattle  struck  dead  by  the  light- 
ning. Several  cattle  in  the  thinly  settled  neighborhood 
were  killed  but  not  any  person.  Before  noon  of  this 
second  day  a  similar  storm  began  and  continued  all  the 
afternoon  and  into  the  night,  and  next  day  there  was  an- 
other violent  storm  but  not  of  long  duration.  The  sloughs 
were  filled  and  the  low  grounds  covered  with  water.  The 
roar  of  Big  Indian  creek  could  be  heard  for  miles. 

Many  years  after  in  speaking  of  these  storms  with  a 
pioneer  who  had  become  wealthy  and  prominent,  he  de- 
clared that  at  his  place  a  barrel  standing  by  itself  and 
outside  of  any  possible  drip,  was  filled  to  the  top  with 
the  rain  that  fell  during  the  three  days.  This  seems 
impossible,  but  he  stated  it  as  a  fact  of  his  own  knowl- 
edge. Fortunately  these  storms  were  comparatively  local ; 
had  they  extended  over  much  of  the  country  the  damage 
would  have  been  very  great.  The  climate  of  this  section  is 
ever  trying  to  beat  its  worst,  but  it  has  not  yet  come  any- 
where near  doing  so  in  this  instance. 

Always  in  the  settlement  of  a  new  country  the  lawless 
element  is  much  more  manifest  than  in  the  older  or  fully 
developed  sections ;  for  criminals,  fleeing  from  the  laws  of 
well  regulated  communities,  seek  cover  in  the  more  prim- 
itive, where  lack  of  law  or  inability  to  enforce  it  furnishes 
safety  to  them  and  also  encourages  other  evil-disposed  per- 
sons to  prey  upon  the  honest.  Generally  their  depreda- 
tions continue  increasingly  until  some  unusually  great  or 
brutal  crime  arouses  and  concentrates  the  honest  element 
in  a  direct  attack  upon  the  criminal  element,  either  through 
more  resolute  and  efficient  application  of  the  law  or 


Recollections  1837—1910  47 

resort  to  the  court  of  Judge  Lynch.  So  it  happened  in 
this  country. 

Success  and  impunity  had  so  largely  increased  the  num- 
bers of  thieves,  robbers  and  counterfeiters,  who  infested 
this  state  and  northern  Missouri,  and  had  so  emboldened 
them  that  they  had  formed  a  regular  organization  and  lit- 
erally defied  the  honest  and  law-abiding.  Finally  their 
depredations  in  this  locality  culminated  in  the  murder  of 
Captain  Campbell  and  in  the  lynching  of  the  two  Driscolls 
in  1841.  This  tragedy  has  been  so  frequently  presented 
in  the  various  histories  of  DeKalb  county  that  I  shall  not 
dwell  upon  it,  especially  as  I  am  confining  myself  so  far  as 
possible  to  matters  in  which  I  participated  or  which  came 
under  my  observation.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  blood 
was  not  shed  in  vain,  for  it  broke  up  whatever  part  of 
the  organization  may  have  existed  in  this  section. 

But  westward  and  southward  the  organization  still 
flourished  and  the  depredations  of  the  banditti  continued 
as  before  until  another  bloody  culmination,  the  murder 
of  Col.  Davenport  at  Rock  Island,  July  4,  1845.  The 
prominence  of  Col.  Davenport  and  the  circumstances 
attending  the  murder  aroused  the  people  as  never  before 
to  the  necessity  of  breaking  up  the  band  or  organization 
and  of  bringing  the  perpetrators  of  such  crimes  to  jus- 
tice. Concerted  action  was  taken  at  once  for  hunting 
down  the  murderers,  and  Bonney  started  on  his  difficult 
and  perilous  undertaking.  He  succeeded  in  arresting 
or  causing  the  arrest  of  all  who  were  implicated  in  the 
murder  of  Col.  Davenport,  three  of  whom  were  hanged, 
two  sent  to  the  penitentiary  and  two,  the  worst  of  the  lot, 
broke  jail  and  escaped  to  parts  unknown.  The  organ- 
ization received  its  death  blow;  the  members  either  took 


48  Recollections  1837—1910 

warning  and  quit  the  business  or  operated  individually 
thereafter. 

One  morning,  early  in  the  fall  of  1850,  our  next  neigh- 
bor, the  man  who  owned  the  place  we  had  rented,  ran 
over  and  told  us  that  his  horses  had  been  stolen.  The 
news  soon  spread  throughout  the  community  and  the 
people  came  rushing  in  from  all  directions.  The  old  set- 
tlers were  full  of  stories  of  the  bandits,  and  the  excite- 
ment was  intense.  It  did  not  take  long  to  discover  which 
way  the  thief  had  gone  with  the  horses.  He  had  covered 
his  tracks  so  poorly  that  his  identity  was  fixed  in  a  few 
hours  and  in  two  or  three  days  the  horses  were  found 
and  brought  back.  He  was  caught  soon  after,  tried, 
convicted  on  confession  and  sentenced  to  two  years  in 
the  penitentiary,  the  judge  taking  into  consideration  his 
advanced  age,  his  ill  health  and  his  inaptitude  as  a  horse 
thief.  He  had  played  a  lone  hand,  evidently,  and  had  lost 
every  trick. 

He  was  an  immigrant  from  Canada,  with  a  good  wife 
and  a  large  and  interesting  family.  Having  lost  his  prop- 
erty in  Canada,  he  had  come  to  this  country  with  little 
means,  so  had  squatted  on  some  land  a  couple  of  miles 
north  of  what  was  then  considered  the  boundary  line  of 
civilization.  Here  he  had  constructed  a  sort  of  half  cabin 
and  half  dugout  the  year  before  and  broken  up  some 
thirty  or  forty  acres.  This  he  had  sown  to  wheat  in  the 
spring.  Aided  by  his  son,  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  old, 
he  had  harvested  his  crop,  which  was  good,  and  then  he 
was  taken  sick.  The  grain  was  still  in  the  shock  when 
the  terrific  storms  occurred  which  I  have  described.  Much 
of  his  grain  was  washed  away  and  the  rest  badly  damaged. 
He  had  little  or  nothing  with  which  to  carry  his  family 


Recollections  1837—1910  49 

through  the  winter  and  so  in  desperation  he  stole  the 
horses.  This  is  what  he  told  the  court  and  it  was  true 
so  far  as  we  knew.  He  would  have  taken  our  horses, 
which  were  better  and  just  as  easy  to  get,  had  not  mother 
given  him  beneficial  medicine  and  helped  the  family  when 
he  was  sick.  His  wife's  folks  in  Canada,  highly  respect- 
able people,  provided  for  her  and  family  and  took  them 
home  in  the  spring. 

In  the  fall  of  1850  we  moved  into  the  little  house  built 
upon  our  own  place.  The  winter  following  was  mild  and 
wet  with  no  hard  freezing.  Eighteen  inches  of  snow,  as 
roughly  estimated,  fell  on  the  first  Sunday  in  April  and 
six  inches  the  second  Sunday.  Thereafter  until  nearly 
midsummer  it  rained  most  of  the  time.  During  ten  con- 
secutive days  in  June  there  was  not  an  hour  of  sunshine. 
It  was  the  wettest,  nastiest,  and  most  discouraging  season 
of  all  in  the  record.  Our  wheat  was  blighted,  our  corn  did 
not  fully  ripen,  and  our  oats  were  rusted  so  as  to  be 
poisonous.  We  wallowed  in  water  and  mud  at  our  work. 
Prices  were  so  low  for  what  little  we  could  spare  of  the 
poor  stuff  we  had  raised  that  we  did  not  see  how  we 
could  pull  through  until  another  harvest.  In  fact  we 
were  so  disgusted  that  we  heartily  wished  we  had  staid 
in  Canada  or  gone  on  to  California.  But  the  rain  stopped 
at  last  and  the  fall  of  1851  was  fine,  with  a  delightful 
Indian  summer.  Our  courage  returned.  We  borrowed 
a  little  money  at  forty  per  cent  and  went  ahead  as  best 
we  could. 

As  Shabbona  with  his  family  left  the  grove  in  the  spring 
of  1849  and  we  arrived  in  the  fall  we  were  too  late  to  see 
the  Indians.  The  road  to  our  wood-lot  entered  the  grove 
near  the  log  house  and  the  grounds  which  they  occupied 

5 


50  Recollections  1837—1910 

when  here,  and  the  many  stories  we  had  been  told  about 
him  and  his  tribe  greatly  interested  us;  so  when,  one 
morning  in  the  fall  of  1851,  we  heard  that  the  Indians 
had  come  back,  my  brother  and  I  started  out  to  see  them. 
We  did  not  find  them  at  their  old  place,  that  being  occu- 
pied by  a  settler  who  had  purchased  it  since  their  last 
departure ;  but  they  had  made  a  camp  near-by  in  a  piece  of 
thick  grove  where  they  had  put  up  one  small  wigwam. 
There  were  possibly  a  dozen  of  them,  men,  women  and 
children,  huddled  around  a  fire  outside,  and  several  ponies 
were  tied  to  trees.  They  seemed  to  be  in  trouble;  they 
took  no  notice  of  us  and  we  did  not  speak  to  them.  The 
old  chief,  Shabbona,  was  evidently  preparing  for  a  jour- 
ney. Feeling  that  we  were  unwelcome  visitors  we  only 
staid  a  few  minutes.  Within  a  day  or  two  we  learned 
that  the  Indians  had  left  the  grove  and  gone,  nobody 
knew  where.  I  saw  Shabbona  only  once  after,  and  that 
was  at  the  Lincoln  and  Douglas  debate  at  Ottawa  in 
1858.  He  was  sitting  on  the  platform  beside  Owen 
Lovejoy  and  behind  Lincoln,  apparently  listening  with 
attention  to  the  speeches.  He  was  then  more  than  eighty 
years  old;  but  he  still  retained  his  plumpness  and  was  a 
really  good  looking  man,  although  he  was  but  an  old 
Indian.  He  died  the  next  year. 

Several  histories  of  Shabbona  have  been  published,  but 
all,  unfortunately,  long  after  his  death.  They  do  not 
always  agree  in  their  statements  regarding  events  in  his 
life,  because  not  much  can  be  found  in  the  records,  it  was 
too  late  to  obtain  anything  directly  from  him,  and  most 
of  the  information  gathered  had  been  carried  so  many 
years  in  the  memories  of  the  old  people  who  knew  him 
that  their  stories  could  not  be  expected  to  harmonize  in 


Recollections  1837—1910  51 

dates  and  details.    But  they  all  agree  in  that  he  was  "a 
noble  red  man." 

All  the  testimony  goes  to  show  that  he  was  by  nature 
kindly,  honorable  and  generous;  that  after  he  ceased  to 
be  an  active  warrior  he  was  a  true  and  constant  friend 
of  the  white  man ;  that  he  saved  the  lives  of  many  white 
people  at  the  risk  of  his  own  life,  and  that,  instead  of 
being  duly  rewarded  for  his  services,  he  was  robbed  of  all 
his  rightful  possessions  by  speculators  and  by  our  gov- 
ernment and  left  with  his  family  dependent  upon  charity. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

SHABBONA — HIS    GREAT    SERVICES   AND    SHAMEFUL   TREAT- 
MENT. 

A  BRIEF  sketch  of  the  life  of  Shabbona  may  now  be 
in  order.  He  was  by  birth  an  Ottawa  chief,  a 
grand  nephew  of  Pontiac,  and  was  born  between 
the  years  1775  and  1780  in  Canada,  or  in  Ohio,  or  in  Illi- 
nois on  the  Maumee  river  or  the  Kaskaskia  river.  It  is 
known  that  he  was  in  the  vicinity  of  Chicago  about  1800 
and  sojourned  with  a  band  of  Pottawatomies  under  Chief 
Spotka;  that  he  soon  after  married  Spotka's  daughter, 
and  upon  the  death  of  Spotka  he  succeeded  him  as  chief. 
Not  long  after,  he  moved  with  his  band  to  Shabbona 
Grove,  which  thereafter  he  considered  his  home,  although 
he  did  not  make  it  his  permanent  abiding  place.  He  be- 
came involved  in  Tecumseh's  schemes,  and  traveled 
around  with  and  aided  the  latter  in  his  efforts  to  unite 
the  tribes  against  the  white  settlers  in  the  west. 

When  war  was  declared  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  in  1812,  he  went  with  his  warriors  to  join 
the  Indians  assembled  about  Fort  Dearborn.  He  arrived 
there  in  the  afternoon  of  the  day  of  the  massacre,  and 
the  only  part  he  took  in  the  affair  was  to  help  Chiefs 
Black  Partridge  and  Sauganash  protect  the  few  prisoners 
taken,  whose  lives  were  threatened  by  the  many  Indians 
who  had  come  in  after  the  massacre.  Shabbona  with 
his  band  then  made  their  way  to  the  camp  of  Tecumseh 
and  his  allies.  He  was  appointed  aid  to  Tecumseh  and  so 

52 


Recollections  1837—1910  53 

served  until  the  death  of  the  latter  in  the  Battle  of  The 
Thames,  Oct.  5,  1813.  He  was  by  the  side  of  Tecumseh 
when  that  great  chief  was  shot  by  Col.  Johnson. 

The  results  of  that  war  convinced  him  that  it  was  use- 
less for  the  Indians  to  resist  the  whites,  and  at  its  close 
he  returned  to  his  grove  determined  to  live  in  peace  with 
them.  To  this  determination  he  steadily  adhered  there- 
after. He  cultivated  friendship  with  the  whites  and  ex- 
erted himself  whenever  occasion  called  to  prevent  misun- 
derstandings and  conflicts  between  them  and  the  Indians. 
At  the  outbreak  of  the  Winnebagoes  in  1827  he  promptly 
visited  the  neighboring  Pottawatomie  villages  and  urged 
them  to  keep  the  peace.  He  was  well  received  and  suc- 
cessful at  all  except  at  the  camp  of  Big  Foot ;  there  he  was 
made  prisoner  and  would  have  been  killed  by  the  chief 
had  not  the  wiser  warriors  feared  the  consequences  and 
in  the  night  set  him  free.  They,  also,  decided  not  to 
join  the  Winnebagoes. 

But  it  was  in  the  Black  Hawk  War  that  Shabbona 
rendered  greatest  service  to  the  whites.  Early  in  1832 
Black  Hawk  and  the  Prophet  called  a  council  of  the 
tribes,  the  Pottawatomies,  Winnebagoes,  Sauks  and  Foxes, 
and  earnestly  urged  an  alliance  and  a  concerted  attack 
upon  the  settlers.  Shabbona  was  there  and  his  influence 
prevailed  with  the  Pottawatomies ;  they  refused  to  join  the 
union  and  the  council  broke  up  without  effecting  it.  Black 
Hawk,  however,  persisted  in  his  determination  to  fight 
the  whites.  In  April  he  crossed  the  Mississippi  with  his 
band  and  went  onward  to  a  place  since  known  as  Still- 
man's  Run,  about  thirty  miles  northeast  from  Dixon's 
Ferry  (now  Dixon)  where  he  made  a  camp  in  a  grove. 
Not  meeting  with  representatives  from  other  tribes  as  he 


54  Recollections  1837—1910 

expected,  he  sent  out  messengers  for  their  chiefs.  Shab- 
bona  and  Waubonsie  promptly  responded,  the  former  with 
intent  to  persuade  Black  Hawk  not  to  begin  a  conflict 
with  the  whites  which  would  surely  end  in  his  destruction, 
and  the  latter  to  hear  the  arguments  and  look  over  the 
situation  before  coming  to  decision.  Shabbona  returned 
and  Waubonsie  awaited  the  arrival  of  other  chiefs. 

While  Black  Hawk  was  awaiting  and  counseling  with 
these  chiefs  a  large  force  of  militia  had  been  concentrated 
at  Dixon's  Ferry,  and  a  scouting  party  of  about  270 
mounted  men  were  sent  out  under  Major  Stillman  to 
break  up  Black  Hawk's  camp.  Being  informed  by  his 
scouts  that  the  white  soldiers  were  near  he  sent  a  flag 
of  truce  by  a  messenger  to  meet  them  and  to  invite  the 
officers  to  a  parley,  but  the  soldiers  ignored  the  flag  and 
killed  the  messenger.  Naturally  this  made  him  furious 
and  he  immediately  prepared  for  battle.  He  extended 
the  line  of  his  little  army  of  forty  warriors  along  the 
edge  of  the  timber,  where,  concealed  by  the  bushes  and 
brush,  they  awaited  the  approach  of  the  soldiers.  The 
latter,  riding  along  in  a  disorderly  manner  as  they  neared 
the  ambush,  were  suddenly  greeted  with  terrific  yells  and 
a  shower  of  bullets,  apparently  from  a  large  body  of 
Indians.  They  were  so  greatly  surprised,  and  thrown  into 
such  confusion,  that  Major  Stillman  immediately  ordered 
a  retreat.  The  order  was  promptly  obeyed ;  they  turned 
tails  to  the  howling  foe  and  fled  toward  Dixon,  with 
Black  Hawk  and  his  warriors  in  hot  pursuit,  leaving  their 
dead  and  wounded  on  the  field. 

The  night  of  the  day  after,  Shabbona  was  awakened 
and  informed  of  the  disaster.  He  knew  that  Black  Hawk's 
victory  would  bring  many  Indians  to  his  standard  who 


Recollections  1837—1910  55 

hitherto  had  stood  aloof  and  that  massacre  of  the  set- 
tlers would  immediately  follow;  so  he  aroused  his  son 
and  nephew  and  "mounting  in  hot  haste"  they  started 
out  in  different  directions  to  warn  the  settlements  most 
exposed  of  the  impending  danger.  He  took  a  southward 
course,  riding  "fast  and  furious"  over  the  prairie,  stopping 
only  to  warn,  and  to  entreat  sometimes,  as  he  was  not 
always  believed,  until  all  the  settlers  on  his  route  and 
along  the  Bureau  and  Indian  creeks  had  been  notified 
and  given  an  opportunity  to  seek  safety.  But  some  did 
not  take  advantage  of  his  warning,  notably  at  one  settle- 
ment on  Indian  creek,  where,  despite  his  most  earnest  en- 
treaties, the  settlers  decided  to  remain  and  were  in  conse- 
quence the  next  day  butchered  to  the  number  of  fifteen 
men,  women  and  children.  One  man  only  escaped  and 
two  girls  were  carried  off,  but  soon  after  they  were  ran- 
somed and  returned  unharmed.  On  this  wild  ride  Shab- 
bona  was  forty-eight  hours  in  the  saddle ;  he  rode  his  own 
pony  to  death  and  borrowed  another  of  a  settler  to  bear 
him  forward  on  his  mission  and  when  that  was  com- 
pleted to  carry  him  back  to  his  home. 

Such  were  Shabbona's  services  to  the  whites,  and  how 
was  he  rewarded?  Perhaps  I  can  answer  this  question 
as  well  as  any  one.  In  1864,  "Whispering"  Smith,  a 
Chicago  lawyer  whom  some  may  remember,  came  out 
here  and,  assuming  to  represent  the  heirs  of  Shabbona, 
commenced  or  threatened  to  commence  proceedings 
against  owners  of  land  in  Shabbona  Grove,  on  the  plea 
that  the  old  Chief's  rights  in  the  reservation  had  not  been 
properly  or  legally  extinguished  and  that  therefore  the 
sale  by  the  government  was  invalid.  At  a  meeting  of 
said  owners  I  was  commissioned  to  go  to  Washington, 


56  Recollections  1837—1910 

to  investigate  and  report  before  answer  should  be  made 
to  Smith.  It  was  not  a  difficult  undertaking.  I  had 
ready  access  to  the  treaties,  orders  and  correspondence 
relating  to  the  matter  in  the  Indian  Department,  and  I 
soon  found  how  the  government,  when  its  and  the  people's 
obligations  to  Shabbona  were  fresh  had  made  pretense  of 
rewarding  him;  and  how,  later,  it  and  wily  speculators 
had  robbed  him. 

I  have  not  preserved  the  memoranda  then  made  and  I 
do  not  clearly  remember  the  particulars;  but  I  told  Mr. 
Boies,  when  he  was  compiling  his  History  of  DeKalb 
County,  forty  years  ago,  what  I  had  learned  in  Wash- 
ington regarding  the  Shabbona  title.  His  brief  statement 
in  said  history  is  correct,  according  to  my  memory.  I 
quote  as  follows : 

"In  the  treaty  made  at  Prairie  Du  Chien,  in  1829 — by 
which  the  Pottawatomies  ceded  this  section  of  country  to 
the  United  States — two  sections  of  land  at  this  grove  were 
made  a  reservation  to  Shabeney.  In  another  treaty, 
made  at  Tippecanoe,  Ind.,  in  October,  1832,  these  lands 
were  again  reserved  to  Shabonier,  the  French  method  of 
spelling  the  same  name.  In  a  third  treaty,  made  in  Sep- 
tember, 1833,  it  is  provided  that  these  lands  reserved 
shall  be  grants  in  fee  simple,  which  might  be  sold  and 
conveyed  by  the  recipient,  a  privilege  which  he  had  not 
before  possessed ;  but  in  the  following  year  this  provision 
was  rejected  by  the  Senate,  leaving  them,  as  before,  simple 
reservations.  *  *  * 

"In  1845  Old  Shabbona,  ignorant  of  the  repeal  of  that 
provision  of  the  treaty  which  gave  him  a  right  to  sell  his 
land,  sold  to  Azell  A.  Gates  and  Orrin  Gates  his  entire 
reservation.  This  was  speedily  divided  into  tracts  and 


Shabbona. 


Recollections  1837—1910  57 

re-sold  by  the  Gateses  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  adjoining 
prairies.  (The  Gates  brothers'  names  were  Asahel  A. 
Gates  and  Wyram  Gates,  I  think.) 

"But  three  years  later  these  purchasers  were  astonished 
at  finding  that  these  lands  were  offered  for  sale  by  the 
United  States  government,  as  were  the  adjoining  prairies. 
An  investigation,  made  through  Hon.  John  Wentworth, 
then  member  of  Congress  for  this  district,  disclosed  the 
fact  that  the  deed  of  Shabbona  to  the  Gateses  was  void ; 
and  that  the  government  held  that,  as  Shabbona,  by  trans- 
ferring and  giving  up  possession,  had  forfeited  the  use  of 
the  reservation,  it  was  competent  for  the  government  to 
sell  it  as  other  public  lands  in  this  department  were  sold." 

The  only  way  then  by  which  the  purchasers  from  the 
Gateses  could  have  their  lands,  which  were  worth  many 
times  the  government  price,  was  to  attend  the  land  sale 
at  Dixon  and  bid  them  in  as  offered  at  auction.  They 
immediately  organized  and  prepared  for  action.  On  the 
day  of  sale  they  were  there  in  force,  well  armed  and  de- 
termined to  prevent  any  one  from  bidding  higher  than 
the  minimum  price,  $1.25  per  acre;  and  they  got  their 
lands  at  that  price. 

Our  government  never  notified  Shabbona  that  it  had 
broken  the  treaty,  and  the  Gateses  letters  to  Wentworth, 
on  file  in  Washington,  indicate  that  they  did  not  know  this 
at  the  time  of  their  purchase.  It  is  evident  from  the  trans- 
actions and  the  stories  of  his  white  neighbors,  that  Shab- 
bona was  childishly  ignorant  of  white  men's  business 
methods  and  of  the  value  of  money  except  in  small  sums, 
and  that,  having  become  desirous  to  sell,  he  was  easily 
induced  by  the  Gateses  to  part  with  his  reservation  "for  a 
song."  I  was  told  that,  besides  building  him  a  log  house, 


58  Recollections  1837—1910 

which  leaked  so  he  would  not  live  in  it,  and  reserving 
therewith  a  few  acres  of  timber  and  prairie  for  his  wood 
and  his  cornfield,  they  only  paid  him  $300  in  cash ;  while 
others  said  they  were  to  give  him  more,  later,  but  did  not 
because  his  title  proved  to  be  invalid.  The  Gateses  learned 
this  fact  not  long  after  their  purchase,  as  the  letters  in 
Washington  show ;  but  that  did  not  prevent  their  selling 
of  the  wood-lots  at  good  round  prices  to  the  settlers,  who 
remained  as  ignorant  as  Shabbona  of  the  condition  of  the 
title  until  advised  by  the  notice  of  government  sale  afore- 
said. 

The  action  of  Congressman  Wentworth  in  the  interest 
of  the  Gateses  was  what  brought  attention  to  the  matter 
in  Washington  and  resulted  in  the  order  to  put  the  reser- 
vation upon  the  market.  Evidently  the  Indian  Department 
took  the  position  that  inasmuch  as  Shabbona  had  sold 
his  right  and  had  gone  away  the  ratification  of  his  sale 
to  the  Gateses  would  benefit  only  these  speculators;  and 
probably  Wentworth  soon  came  to  the  same  conclusion  as 
no  further  steps  were  taken.  The  rights  of  the  settlers 
who  had  purchased  from  the  Gateses  were  not  considered 
because  they  had  made  no  appeal,  being  ignorant  of  the 
conditions. 

Of  course  the  time  had  arrived  when  the  reservation 
had  to  be  sold  and  divided,  for  the  settlers  were  becom- 
ing so  many  that  they  must  and  would  have  the  timber. 
This  Shabbona  had  long  realized  and  he  was  willing  to 
sell.  Had  he  or  his  friends,  and  he  had  some  in  Chicago 
who  were  influential,  known  that  the  government  had 
broken  the  treaty,  they  might  and  probably  would  have 
taken  such  steps  as  would  have  given  him  the  full  benefit 
of  its  sale  which,  properly  managed  and  with  fairness  to 


Recollections  1837—1910  59 

settlers,  might  have  yielded  him  several  thousand  dollars, 
though  all  the  government  got  for  it  was  $1,600,  less 
expenses  of  sale. 

The  special  provision  in  the  treaty  of  1833,  conceding 
to  Shabbona  the  right  to  sell  a  property  long  possessed 
by  him  as  his  own,  was  a  ridiculously  small  payment  or 
reward  for  his  great  and  fully  acknowledged  services ;  and 
the  depriving  him  of  such  right  by  our  Senate  the  very 
next  year,  without  cause  or  notice  and  only  for  its  paltry 
value  to  the  government,  was  a  mean,  ungrateful  and 
despicable  act.  There  never  has  been  any  excuse  for  it. 

It  has  been  a  common  saying  in  this  country  that  the 
only  good  Indians  are  dead  Indians,  and  too  frequently 
that  has  been  the  keynote  of  our  policy  when  dealing  with 
Indians.  Unless  Shabbona  and  his  band  were  remarkably 
exceptional,  they  demonstrated  that  there  must  have  been 
a  considerable  number  of  good  Indians  whom  our  people 
have  overlooked  or  failed  to  recognize. 

Here  was  an  Indian  who  having  pledged  friendship 
and  good  faith  maintained  them  to  the  end.  After  he 
had  declared  for  peace  he  worked  for  peace  to  the  best 
of  his  ability.  He  used  his  influence  to  keep  his  people 
quiet  and  to  prevent  misunderstandings  that  might  lead 
to  conflicts  between  the  races.  He  and  his  band  protected 
the  peaceful  whites  when  they  were  threatened  by  the 
men  of  his  own  race.  With  great  exertion  and  at  the 
risk  of  his  own  life  he  saved  many  lives  of  white  people. 
Finally  he  and  his  following,  some  twenty-five  or  thirty 
persons,  and  their  ponies,  lived  their  free  and  easy  life 
several  years  in  the  midst  of  a  white  settlement,  in  peace, 
friendship  and  fair  dealing  with  all.  There  was  some 
petty  thieving  but  no  willful  trespass,  an  occasional  drunk 


60  Recollections  1837—1910 

but  no  serious  rows  or  fights  among  themselves  and  none 
with  the  settlers.  Complaints  or  misunderstandings  when 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  old  chief  were  promptly 
considered  and  adjusted  or  their  recurrence  prevented. 
He  instructed  his  people  to  be  courteous  to  the  whites  but 
not  familiar.  He  was  quite  strict  with  them  and  they 
obeyed  him.  All  this  and  much  more  I  was  told  by  the 
old  settlers.  They  were  unanimous  in  their  expressions 
of  good  will  toward  the  little  community  of  Indians  and 
especially  toward  its  chief,  who,  apparently,  had  made 
warm  friends  of  them  all.  Would  white  people  under  like 
conditions  have  left  any  better  record  ? 

When  Shabbona  left  the  grove  in  the  spring  of  1849  he 
did  not  intend  to  abandon  his  home,  for  he  gave  the  prem- 
ises and  various  things  in  charge  of  his  nearest  neighbor, 
to  be  cared  for  until  his  return.  When  he  came  back  in 
the  fall  of  1851  and  found  his  place  occupied  by  strangers 
and  was  informed  by  his  neighbor  of  the  proceedings 
during  his  absence,  his  grief  was  great ;  but  another  and 
more  direct  blow  was  awaiting  him  at  the  place  where  he 
had  left  his  people  making  a  camp,  for  there  he  found  a 
man  trying  to  prevent  their  work,  cursing  and  threaten- 
ing them  for  cutting  poles  and  making  a  fire  in  his  tim- 
ber and  ready  to  pour  out  the  vials  of  his  wrath  upon  the 
sorrow-stricken  old  man.  On  learning  who  he  was,  how- 
ever, the  settler,  a  newcomer,  moderated  his  language, 
and  as  it  was  late  he  withdrew  his  order  that  they  must 
get  out  at  once  and  left  them,  only  cautioning  against 
cutting  the  timber.  They  fixed  up  a  temporary  camp; 
but  Shabbona  threw  himself  on  the  ground  outside  and 
laid  there  without  speaking  until  morning.  In  a  day  or 
two  they  pulled  up  and  left  the  grove  forever. 


Recollections  1837—1910  61 

Apparently  Shabbona  did  not  know  where  to  go.  His 
next  camping  place  was  in  Big  Rock  timber,  about  twenty 
miles  eastward.  There  he  and  his  people  were  found,  a 
day  or  two  later,  by  an  old  friend,  a  near  neighbor  of 
ours,  as  he  was  returning  from  Aurora.  His  story,  as 
told  to  us  that  evening  and  as  I  gave  it  to  Mr.  Boies,  was 
in  substance  as  follows :  Shabbona  seemed  utterly  cast 
down;  and  in  reply  to  inquiries  as  to  why  he  left  and 
where  he  was  going,  he  said  he  had  long  been  a  friend 
of  the  white  people;  that  he  had  treated  them  well;  that 
the  burying  ground  of  his  family  was  at  the  grove ;  that 
he  had  lived  there  and  wanted  to  die  there ;  that  he  had 
lost  all  and  was  very  poor.  Then  he  told  how,  because 
his  people  had  burned  a  few  sticks  of  wood,  "big  white 
man  call  me  damn  Indian.  Shabbona  never  damn  white 
man,"  and  pointing  upwards,  while  the  tears  ran  down  his 
old  cheeks,  he  continued,  "No  big  white  man,  no  damn 
Indian  up  there,  all  'like;  all  'like."  And  while  the  old 
settler  told  us  this  the  tears  were  running  down  his  old 
cheeks.  Very  many  interesting  stories  about  the  old  chief 
and  his  people  have  been  published  in  the  various  histories 
referred  to,  which  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  repeat. 

From  Big  Rock  timber  he  and  his  little  band  wandered 
southward  and  around  aimlessly,  their  wants  being  sup- 
plied by  the  settlers,  until  finally  some  benevolent  friends 
contributed  enough  to  buy  him  a  little  home  near  Morris, 
111. ;  and  they  also  obtained  a  pension  of  $300  a  year  from 
the  government  for  him  as  a  Black  Hawk  War  veteran. 
He  died  in  1859  and  was  buried  in  the  Morris  cemetery. 
In  1864  his  widow,  Pokanoka,  was  drowned  in  a  creek 
she  was  trying  to  cross ;  she  was  buried  beside  him ;  and 
in  1903  a  suitable  monument  was  erected  to  their  memory. 


62  Recollections  1837—1910 

His  little  band  of  followers  have  been  scattered  to  the 
four  winds. 

In  the  foregoing  sketch  of  the  life  of  Shabbona  I  have 
endeavored  to  present  facts  only,  such  as  are  well  authen- 
ticated, apparently,  or  are  shown  in  the  records ;  but  very 
likely  the  information  obtained  was  not  always  correct. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

BUILDING  OF  C.  B.  AND  Q.  RAILWAY MARKETING ADVEN- 
TURES ON  THE  OLD  PRAIRIE  ROADS DRIVING  CATTLE  TO 

CHICAGO A  WOLF  HUNT — A  COUNTRY  SCHOOL  IN  '52. 

IN  1852  our  crops  were  good,  prices  for  products  had 
advanced  and  prospects  were  encouraging.  The  C.  B. 
&  Q.  railway,  connecting  with  the  old  Galena  (now 
Northwestern),  at  Turner  Junction  (now  West  Chicago), 
had  entered  Aurora  the  year  before  and  made  that  town — 
thirty  miles  distant — our  nearest  market.  So,  there  we 
now  hauled  our  stuff  and  did  our  trading  instead  of  driv- 
ing on  to  Chicago ;  and,  although  said  railway  had  reached 
and  passed  Waverly  (now  and  long  since  Leland),  then 
our  nearest  station,  twelve  miles  south,  we  kept  on  going 
to  Aurora  for  several  years,  as  did  our  neighbors,  gen- 
erally. With  the  average  load  for  the  roads  of  that  time — 
forty  bushels  of  wheat  or  the  equivalent — it  was  a  day's 
drive  to  Aurora.  'Twas  slow  and  tedious ;  but  in  market- 
ing seasons  there  would  be  so  many  of  us  on  the  road 
together  that  we  could  and  did  make  things  lively.  We 
were  always  ready  to  help  each  other  when  we  "got 
slewed"  or  into  other  trouble,  and  generally  we  had  a  jolly 
time  in  town.  On  returning  we  were  frequently  loaded 
with  lumber  or  other  stuff  for  the  farm,  and  occasionally 
one  or  more  would  be  with  something  that  he  would  better 
have  left.  But  when  roads  were  bad  and  one  had  to  make 
a  trip  alone  with  a  load,  his  experience  was  often  woeful. 
Many  a  time  have  I  been  stuck  in  the  mud  of  a  main 

63 


64  Recollections  1837—1910 

road  or  in  the  sloughs  that  had  to  be  crossed  when  fol- 
lowing the  devious  wagon  tracks  across  the  wild  prairie. 
In  such  cases  we  had  to  lift  out  and  tote  to  shore — 
whether  of  slough  or  of  mud — more  or  less  of  the  load, 
and  then  we  might  have  to  use  a  rail,  which,  when  the 
conditions  justified  we  usually  carried  along,  to  pry  up 
the  wheels  so  as  to  lessen  the  resistance  of  the  mud  or 
sod;  and  sometimes  we  had  to  lead  the  horses  forward 
onto  firmer  ground  and  hitch  them  by  a  chain  to  the 
end  of  the  wagon  pole. 

As  samples  of  such  work  I  will  relate  the  following 
incidents :  Once  when  returning  rather  late  from  DeKalb 
with  a  load  of  lumber,  in  crossing  the  Duffy  slough  I 
turned  out  to  avoid  a  deep  mud  hole  and  the  wheels  went 
down  to  the  hubs  in  the  bog.  The  horses  could  not  move 
the  wagon  even  after  it  had  been  entirely  unloaded.  I 
had  to  uncouple  the  wagon,  hitch  the  horses  by  a  chain  to 
the  end  of  the  pole  to  pull  out  the  front  wheels  and  then 
to  the  reach  to  pull  out  the  hind  wheels.  After  putting 
the  wagon  together  and  reloading  I  had  twelve  miles  yet 
to  go,  wet  and  muddy,  in  a  raw  night,  late  in  the  fall. 

Another  time  when  my  brother  and  I  were  coming  from 
town  with  a  load  of  shingles,  I,  sitting  on  a  bunch  and 
driving  the  horses  as  they  slowly  pulled  the  wagon  along 
the  narrow  canal  of  liquid  mud  used  as  road,  one  fore 
wheel  dropped  into  a  hole,  the  bunch  of  shingles  tipped 
forward  and  dropped  me  directly  in  front  of  the  wheel, 
which  advanced  sufficiently  to  force  my  head  completely 
under  the  rnud,  when  fortunately  the  horses  stopped. 
After  I  had  pulled  myself  out  and  had  clawed  the  mud 
out  of  my  mouth  and  eyes  and  ears,  my  brother  said  I 
spoke  some  words  that,  so  far  as  his  knowledge  went, 


Recollections  1837—1910  65 

were  new  and  never  used  before.  We  were  then  seven 
or  eight  miles  from  home  and  the  weather  cold  enough 
to  freeze  the  mud  sticking  to  my  clothes  and  hair.  In 
winter  time  those  long  hauls  with  loaded  wagons,  when 
the  thermometer  was  down  to  zero  and  a  blizzard  wind 
blowing,  were  not  pleasure  trips ;  not  many  of  our  young 
farmers  of  the.  present  day  would  attempt  them  and  no 
hired  man  would. 

Later,  when  we  were  raising  more  grain  it  was  a  com- 
mon practice,  if  one  had  a  carload  to  sell  and  roads 
were  passable,  to  get  some  neighbors  to  turn  in  and  help 
haul  the  grain  to  the  nearest  railway  station  where  they 
would  load  it  on  a  car  for  Chicago,  the  owner  going  in 
with  it  or  consigning  it  to  some  known  commission  man. 
But  for  some  years  longer  we  continued  the  practice  of 
driving  our  fat  cattle  in  to  Chicago.  Bull's  Head,  where 
the  Washingtonian  Home  now  is,  was  then  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  cattle  market.  The  city  did  not  extend  in  that 
direction  beyond  the  old  tavern  the  last  time  we  drove 
a  lot  of  cattle  in ;  and  we  found  resting  place  and  pasture 
for  them  on  farms,  now  solid  city,  while  we  went  for- 
ward and  arranged  for  their  sale  and  delivery.  This  was 
about  the  middle  of  the  "sixties,"  according  to  my  recol- 
lection. 

In  1852  the  last  call  was  made  for  a  wolf  hunt.  No- 
tices were  duly  sent  out  to  the  people  of  the  surrounding 
country,  asking  them  to  attend  and  advising  them  of  the 
day  and  of  the  point  of  meeting,  the  center  toward  which 
all  should  direct  their  course  and  which  they  were  told  to 
reach  at  or  near  a  certain  hour.  The  point  selected  was 
on  the  prairie  some  four  or  five  miles  north  of  Squaw 
Grove.  The  day  was  fine  and  people  turned  out  from  all 

6 


66  Recollections  1837—1910 

directions.  They  came  on  horseback,  of  course,  with 
whoop  and  hello  and  the  firing  of  guns  toward  the  com- 
mon center  where  we  expected  to  inclose  and  kill  many 
wolves;  but  there  was  "nary"  a  wolf  within  the  circle. 
Only  three  had  been  seen,  as  reported,  and  they  had  run 
through  the  line  when  it  was  yet  too  open.  Not  a  deer 
was  started. 

We  had  a  wild  time  on  the  wild  prairie,  and  though  we 
did  no  more  we  demonstrated  that  there  were  very  few 
wolves  or  other  wild  animals  on  our  big  prairie  at  that 
time.  From  the  point  of  meeting  not  a  house  was  to  be 
seen  westward;  only  the  tops  of  the  trees  of  Shabbona 
Grove  were  visible ;  eastward  the  view  was  not  interrupted 
by  grove  or  settlement ;  Squaw  Grove  and  a  house  or  two 
at  its  north  end  were  in  sight  southward ;  and  far  to  the 
north,  near  Lost  Grove,  stood  out  plainly,  on  a  rise  of 
ground,  a  small  house  newly  painted  white,  glistening  in 
the  sun  and  attracting  particular  attention  because  a 
painted  house  out  on  the  prairie  was  yet  a  rare  object. 

The  directors  of  our  country  school  having  failed  to 
get  the  teacher  they  wanted  for  the  winter  of  1852-3, 
one  of  them  came  to  me  and  suggested  that  I  should  un- 
dertake the  job.  The  salary  offered  was  $16  per  month, 
and  "board  around,"  for  three  months;  payment  to  be 
collected  from  the  heads  of  families  sending  children,  to 
be  pro-rated  according  to  the  number  of  days  of  their 
attendance.  This  meant  no  pay  until  the  end  of  term 
and  then  only  as  much  as  could  be  collected.  It  was  not 
a  very  attractive  offer;  but  it  was  in  accord  with  prices 
and  conditions  then  prevailing.  I  was  not  yet  nineteen 
years  of  age  and  not  a  particularly  sedate  youth,  and 
though  confident  as  to  teaching  was  very  doubtful  as  to 


Recollections  1837—1910  67 

government.  Finally  I  concluded  that  it  would  be  better 
than  working  in  the  grove  or  lying  around,  so  I  accepted. 

The  school  opened  with  about  forty  in  attendance  and 
a  dozen  or  more  in  prospect,  ranging  in  ages  from  six 
to  twenty.  When  school  was  called  to  order  and  before 
work  was  begun,  I  told  them  that  they  had  come  to  learn 
as  much  as  they  could,  undoubtedly,  and  to  that  end  my 
time  ought  to  be  given  to  their  instruction  and  not  wasted 
on  their  government;  therefore,  I  proposed  to  put  them 
on  their  good  behavior  from  the  start.  I  also  appealed 
to  the  older  scholars,  young  men  and  women,  to  set  good 
examples,  promising  if  they  would  help  me  in  that  way 
I  would  so  help  them  all  in  their  studies  that  they  would 
surely  make  good  progress. 

Such  propositions,  often  made  at  school  openings,  have 
not  been  always  followed  by  satisfactory  results,  but  mine 
turned  out  very  well.  I  had  some  trouble  of  course. 
There  are  incorrigibles  in  every  school;  and  I  had  to 
demonstrate  to  the  well-disposed  that  I  was  really  in 
earnest,  before  their  action  and  example  had  good  effect 
upon  the  unruly,  and  this  I  did  by  constant  devotion  to 
their  instruction,  in  school  and  out  of  school,  by  going 
from  one  to  another  when  not  hearing  classes,  showing, 
explaining  and  helping  them  in  their  difficulties,  and  also 
taking  pains  to  do  so  evenings  where  boarding. 

This  boarding  around  was  tough.  It  was  "pork  and 
tater"  and  heavy  bread  and  biscuit,  less  or  worse,  and 
sometimes  I  had  to  sleep  with  the  children;  but  I  took 
it  all  as  if  I  liked  it,  and  that  made  friends  of  the  parents. 
The  weather  was  very  cold  much  of  the  time  and  I  suf- 
fered more  or  less  where  I  boarded  and  on  the  long  walks 
to  and  fro.  My  ears  were  frozen  and  my  nose  frosted. 


68  Recollections  1837—1910 

The  directors  thought  the  school  was  rather  disorderly, 
but  there  were  no  rights  between  the  teacher  and  the  big 
scholars  as  in  former  schools  and  it  was  acknowledged 
that  the  scholars  had  made  good  progress.  The  directors 
collected  and  paid  me  part  of  my  salary  and  left  me  to 
get  the  rest  if  I  could.  I  got  most  of  it. 


CHAPTER  X. 

BOOM    OF    THE    FIFTIES — GENERAL    INTRODUCTION    OF    IM- 
PROVED   IMPLEMENTS — EXPANSION     AND     COLLAPSE — 

WILD  CAT   MONEY WET  SEASON  OF   1858 — FROSTS  OF 

1859. 

WE  had  good  crops  in  1853.  Aurora  had  become 
an  active  market  for  all  our  products  and  prices 
were  somewhat  higher;  so  conditions  had  con- 
siderably improved.  When  we  first  came  into  this  sec- 
tion, which  then  had  no  railroads  and  no  general  market 
nearer  than  Chicago,  with  prices  there  so  low  that  often 
the  proceeds  of  a  load  would  not  much  more  than  pay  for 
the  hauling,  we,  as  well  as  other  settlers,  did  not  expect 
to  make  more  than  a  comfortable  living  on  our  farms. 
But  the  building  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy 
railway  across  the  south  end  of  the  county  in  1851,  and 
of  the  Dixon  Air  Line,  now  the  main  line  of  Chicago  & 
Northwestern,  across  the  center  of  the  county  in  1854, 
and  the  better  prices  of  products,  began  to  open  all  eyes 
to  the  possibilities  of  prairie  farming.  A  brisk  emigra- 
tion from  east  to  west  began ;  and  Chicago  speculators, 
also  seeing  these  possibilities,  in  1853  and  1854  grabbed 
all  the  government  land  left  on  our  yet  wild  prairies,  get- 
ting most  of  it  on  soldiers'  land  warrants  at  seventy-five 
to  eighty  cents  per  acre. 

During  these  previous  years  we  had  made  very  little 
improvement  in  our  methods  of  farming,  though  each 
year  considerable  breaking  had  been  done,  thus  adding  to 

69 


70  Recollections  1837—1910 

the  acreage  under  cultivation.  We  still  sowed  by  hand, 
planted  by  hand  and  hoe,  cultivated  by  hoe  and  "double- 
shovel"  plow  (a  second  shovel  having  been  added),  and 
mowed,  raked  and  cradled  as  before.  Reapers,  of  several 
kinds  and  makes  by  that  time  had  been  introduced  and 
been  followed  by  other  improved  machines  and  imple- 
ments; but  few  were  bought  because  of  the  little  incen- 
tive for  large  production. 

In  1854,  however,  the  boom  in  prices  caused  by  the 
demands  of  the  Crimean  War,  awakened  the  entire  coun- 
try to  the  possibilities  of  agriculture.  Hitherto  our  acre- 
age in  grain  had  been  limited  to  the  capacity  of  the  cradle. 
A  good  cradler  could  not  average  more  than  three  acres 
per  day,  so  the  cutting  of  thirty  acres  would  require  ten 
days  of  his  work,  or  about  two  weeks  as  the  weather 
would  run,  during  which  time  the  grain,  more  or  less, 
would  get  too  ripe  and  fall.  At  that  time  the  wheat  on 
an  acre  of  prairie  would  sell  for  several  times  the  price 
of  the  land.  It  was  a  simple  proposition  then:  put  in 
more  wheat  and  buy  a  reaper,  buy  more  land  and  put  in 
more  wheat.  Corn  was  also  in  good  demand;  so  better 
implements  and  machinery  for  producing  that  grain  and 
making  it  ready  for  the  market  were  required. 

Thus  commenced  the  boom  of  the  "fifties ;"  and  thus 
was  fully  opened  this  wonderful  era  of  production,  de- 
velopment and  world-wide  adoption  of  American  farm 
machinery.  With  largely  increased  acreage  and  profit- 
able returns  per  acre,  farmers  would  have  and  could  pay 
for  the  various  implements  and  machines  which  were  re- 
quired for  such  increased  acreage.  Besides  reapers  they 
needed  seeders,  planters,  cultivators,  mowers,  shelters, 
etc.,  and  they  soon  got  them.  During  the  years  just 


2 
O 

J! 

H 


i 


Recollections  1837—1910  71 

passed,  inventors  and  manufacturers  had  been  producing 
and  slowly  introducing  such  machinery,  but  it  was  gen- 
erally crude  and  imperfect.  Now,  however,  the  great 
and  constantly  increasing  demand  increased  the  number 
of  producers,  and  competition  stimulated  invention  and 
improvement  as  never  before,  and  so  the  industry  began 
its  victorious  progress.  The  boom  continued  until  about 
the  middle  of  1857  when  without  having  given  sufficient 
warning  for  any  class  to  heed,  it  collapsed. 

Meantime  farmers  had  been  building  (we  built  a  house 
in  1854  and  a  barn  in  1855),  buying  more  land,  buying 
machinery,  carriages,  sewing  machines,  melodeons,  and 
fine  furniture,  and  generally  running  into  debt ;  merchants 
gave  credit  to  any  one  who  would  buy,  and  manufactur- 
ers had  expanded  to  meet  the  inflated  demand.  Prices 
fell  somewhat  at  the  close  of  the  Crimean  War  in  1856, 
but  not  enough  to  seriously  disturb  confidence.  Business 
continued  fairly  prosperous  during  the  first  part  of  1857. 
The  season  was  cool  and  late ;  but  crops  were  good  and 
conditions  were  generally  satisfactory  until  about  the  close 
of  harvest,  when  the  failure  of  some  big  financial  institu- 
tions eastward  started  an  avalanche  of  failures. 

What  was  dubbed  "wild  cat"  money  played  an  import- 
ant part  in  the  catastrophe.  This  wild  cat  money  was 
bills  of  private  banks,  established  by  northern  capitalists 
in  Georgia  or  other  southern  states,  where  the  banking 
laws  were  very  loose  and  put  little  or  no  restriction  upon 
the  issue,  which  bills  were  brought  north  for  circulation. 
Because  of  the  great  need  of  currency  during  the  period 
of  inflation,  this  money  was  readily  taken  where  the  cap- 
italists issuing  it  were  known  and  trusted,  and  we  handled 
the  crisp  bills  of  the  Bank  of  Macon,  the  Bank  of  At- 


72  Recollections  1837—1910 

i 

lanta,  etc.,  without  question.  When  the  crash  came  most 
of  this  stuff  was  about  as  valuable  as  Confederate  money 
at  the  close  of  the  war.  But  some  of  the  capitalists  re- 
deemed what  they  had  issued,  notably  in  this  section 
George  Smith,  the  old  Scotch  banker  at  Milwaukee. 

In  the  fall  of  1857  prices  of  farm  products  were  low 
and  falling  and  business  was  stagnant.  Nearly  every- 
body was  in  debt  and  hardly  anybody  could  pay.  Some 
pulled  through  all  right,  many  made  assignments,  and 
others  ran  away,  and  a  few  sharpers  with  ready  money 
fattened  upon  the  sacrifices  of  the  most  needy.  Many 
manufacturers  who  had  been  doing  a  flourishing  business 
were  compelled  to  close  their  works,  to  be  opened  soon  or 
to  change  ownership  or  to  remain  closed. 

The  year  1858  was  one  of  the  worst  of  our  wet  seasons ; 
wheat  was  blighted,  oats  were  rusted  so  as  to  be  almost 
worthless,  corn  was  only  a  middling  crop,  and  the  returns 
for  what  stuff  we  could  spare  were  very  light.  The 
season  of  1859  was  remarkably  cool  and  dry;  there  was 
frost  in  every  month  and  a  killing  frost  for  corn  on  low 
ground  on  the  4th  of  July.  All  the  corn  was  injured  in 
this  section.  Wheat  was  a  fair  crop  but  the  price  was 
too  low  to  give  us  much  relief.  Those  were  the  years 
that  tried  men's  souls ;  and  worse  were  coming. 

I  forgot  to  notice  in  its  time,  about  1853,  the  blessed 
advent  in  the  household  of  kerosene  oil,  when  the  glim- 
mer of  candle  and  grease-oil  lamp  gave  place  to  the 
brilliant  but  soft  light  of  kerosene,  a  light  that  never  has 
been  excelled. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

POLITICAL  AGITATION  DURING  THE  FIFTIES — THE  KNOW 
NOTHINGS — LINCOLN  AND  DOUGLAS  DEBATE  AT  OT- 
TAWA  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  THE  FIFTIES — AMUSEMENTS — 

SPIRITUALISM — ESTHETIC    EFFORTS. 

POLITICS  were  rampant  during  the  "fifties"  and 
slavery  was  the  burning  question.  It  overshad- 
owed the  distinctive  policies  or  measures  ordinarily 
advocated  by  the  other  parties — the  Whigs,  the  Demo- 
crats and  the  Free-soilers — and  it  had  the  Abolitionists 
in  the  north  and  the  Fire-eaters  in  the  south  as  violent 
agitators  to  keep  it  hot  before  the  people  of  both  sections. 
The  various  phases  of  its  discussion  occupied  the  attention 
of  Congress  and  of  the  Supreme  Court  to  the  exclusion 
of  other  important  matters.  Congress  gave  us  the  Fugi- 
tive Slave  law  in  1850,  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise and  passage  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  in  1854, 
and  the  Supreme  Court  turned  out  the  Dred  Scott  decision 
in  1857.  To  add  to  the  confusion  and  agitation,  in  1853-'4 
and  '5,  a  secret  society,  strong  in  numbers  and  in  the  abil- 
ity of  its  members,  popularly  designated  the  "Know  Noth- 
ings," undertook  to  organize  a  strictly  American  party. 
Their  aims  were  so  tersely  presented  in  one  of  the  songs 
of  the  time  that  I  will  quote  a  verse : 

"If  I  was  president  of  the  United  States 
I'd  arrange  my  business  accordin'; 

The  niggers  I  would  sell, 

The  Irish  send  to  hell, 

And  the  Dutch  to  the  other  side  of  Jordan." 
73 


74  Recollections  1837—1910 

But  the  slavery  question  overshadowed  all  other  aims  and 
issues,  so  that  effort  proved  abortive.  In  1854  the  Repub- 
lican party  was  organized  and  in  1856  John  C.  Fremont 
was  its  candidate  for  the  presidency.  My  first  vote  was 
for  Fremont. 

In  the  summer  of  1858  my  brother  and  I,  with  two 
others,  went  by  carriage  down  to  Ottawa,  thirty  miles 
distant,  to  attend  the  debate  held  there  between  Lincoln 
and  Douglas.  Having  started  early  we  arrived  in  time 
to  obtain  good  positions  for  hearing  what  was  said  and 
for  closely  observing  the  speakers.  I  stood  near  the 
Open  end  of  the  platform  where  Lincoln,  Owen  Love- 
joy  and  Chief  Shabbona  were  seated.  Douglas'  place  on 
the  platform  was  at  about  the  middle  of  the  front  bench. 

Although  a  Republican,  I  highly  appreciated  Douglas' 
ability  and  believed  him  honest  in  his  assertions  that  his 
plan  would  settle  the  slavery  question  and  allay  the  ex- 
citement which  was  already  threatening  the  peace  of  the 
country.  Because  of  what  had  been  reported  of  Lincoln, 
I  doubted  his  ability  to  cope  with  Douglas  and  expected 
to  see  in  him  a  very  common  sort  of  a  man.  One  of 
our  party  was  a  schoolmaster  and  a  Democrat.  As  I 
remember,  Douglas  opened  the  debate,  Lincoln  followed, 
and  Douglas  closed. 

Judge  Douglas  was  a  short,  broad-shouldered  man  with 
lion-like  head  and  face.  He  was  a  fluent,  forceful  speaker ; 
but  he  pounded  out  his  propositions  in  a  manner  rather 
too  dogmatic  ("sledge-hammer  style,"  remarked  our 
Democratic  friend),  and  too  often  he  left  the  main  ques- 
tion to  indulge  in  personal  charges  and  explanations.  He 
was  occasionally  coarse  in  his  expressions,  as  for  instance, 
he  accused  Lincoln  of  having  purposely  misstated  some- 


Recollections  1837—1910  75 

thing  and  roared  out,  "I  will  bring  him  to  his  milk."  One 
of  these  remarks  brought  Lincoln  to  his  feet,  with  a  stern 
expression  on  his  face,  but  before  he  had  time  to  inter- 
rupt, as  apparently  he  intended,  Love  joy,  sitting  behind, 
grabbed  his  coat,  pulled  him  back  and  whispered  some- 
thing that  induced  him  to  resume  his  seat.  Douglas' 
speech  gave  me  the  impression  that  he  was  as  ready  to 
appeal  to  prejudice  as  to  reason. 

When  Lincoln  arose  and  went  forward  to  speak  I 
saw  that  he  was  a  man  of  much  length.  He  was  dressed 
in  broadcloth  and  his  long  black  coat  gave  him  a  minis- 
terial look.  His  clothes  were  not  noticeably  ill-fitting 
and  his  appearance  was  eminently  respectable.  He  was 
ziot  handsome,  neither  was  he  ugly.  His  manner  in  speak- 
ing was  earnest  and  dignified ;  he  stood  well  and  indulged 
in  comparatively  few  gestures,  which,  so  far  as  I  was 
competent  to  judge,  were  neither  awkward  nor  ill-timed; 
he  stuck  well  to  his  text,  evidently  much  more  desirous 
of  convincing  his  hearers  that  his  political  doctrines  were 
true  than  of  making  them  laugh  or  applaud,  and  he  held 
their  attention  to  the  end.  It  was  the  unanimous  opinion 
of  our  party  that  Lincoln  made  the  better  impression 
upon  the  crowd. 

At  the  close  of  the  debate  some  of  Douglas'  friends 
made  a  rush  for  him,  raised  him  to  their  shoulders  and 
started  to  carry  him  off  the  grounds,  but  they  stumbled 
after  taking  a  few  steps,  lost  their  hold  and  let  him  fall 
sprawling.  They  lifted  him  up  again  and  this  time  suc- 
cessfully carried  him  forth.  Not  to  be  outdone  by  the 
Democrats  some  Republicans  went  for  Lincoln  and  despite 
his  earnest  protests,  loaded  him  on  their  shoulders.  I 


76  Recollections  1837—1910 

have  never  forgotten  the  expression  on  his  face  as  they 
bore  him  along.  It  was  serio-comic  in  the  extreme. 

In  order  to  make  a  strong  contrast  between  Lincoln's 
looks  and  his  gifts,  his  lowly  origin  and  his  high  attain- 
ments, writers  have  been  so  much  in  the  habit  of  describ- 
ing him  as  ugly,  awkward,  uncouth,  unkempt,  ill-dressed, 
ill-mannered,  etc.,  that  people,  particularly  in  the  east, 
have  the  idea  that  he  was  a  sort  of  "woolly  westerner," 
especially  before  he  had  the  advantages  of  eastern  so- 
ciety. The  truth  is  that  he  was  not  really  ugly,  nor  was 
he  ungainly  or  badly  dressed  on  his  public  appearances. 
His  face  when  lighted  up  in  speaking  was  quite  attract- 
ive. In  short  he  looked  like  a  kindly,  old  fashioned, 
professional  man  who  was  making  a  good  living  but  put- 
ting on  no  style. 

Something  ought  to  be  said  about  our  social  life 
during  those  early  years.  We  had  religious  meetings  in 
private  houses  at  first,  later  in  school  houses  as  they  were 
built,  and  occasionally  camp  meetings  in  the  grove.  There 
were  violinists  among  us  and  we  had  "rounds"  of  dances 
in  our  cabins  during  the  winter,  and  later  we  attended 
balls  given  at  the  taverns  in  the  nearest  towns  which  had 
sprung  up  around  the  railway  stations.  We  had  spelling 
schools,  debating  schools  and  singing  schools.  We  learned 
something  at  each,  besides  the  fun  in  going  and  coming. 
We  would  fill  the  empty  box  of  wagon  or  sleigh  with 
straw,  cover  it  with  blankets,  crowd  in  and  wrap  our- 
selves in  blankets  or  buffalo  skins  (such  skins  cost  then 
only  $6  or  $7  each)  and  take  our  jolly  rides.  It  was 
literally  "Wait  for  the  wagon  and  we'll  all  take  a  ride," 
as  the  old  song  of  the  time  goes. 

Spiritualism  had  worked  its  way  in  by  the  middle  of 


Recollections  1837—1910  77 

the  "fifties,"  so  sittings  or  seances  were  frequently  held 
in  the  houses  of  believers,  and  in  other  houses  where  the 
young  folks  would  gather  in  to  try  their  hands  at  table- 
tipping,  etc.  The  hand  holding  was  pleasant,  though 
the  table  might  fail  to  tip  and  the  spirits  to  respond. 
I  came  near  forgetting  "the  Fourth"  and  the  great  times 
we  had  when  celebrating  the  national  holiday,  the  spread- 
eagle  speeches,  the  firing  of  the  anvil,  the  chase  of  the 
shaved  pig,  the  climbing  of  the  greased  pole  that  had 
a  five  dollar  bill  at  the  top,  and  all  the  other  games  and 
tricks  that  served  to  amuse  the  crowd  of  old  folks,  young 
folks  and  children,  and  to  get  their  money. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  we  wholly  neglected  lit- 
erary matters  or  had  no  aspiration  for  higher  culture. 
Spelling  schools  and  debating  schools  brought  together 
those  who  were  best  educated  of  both  sexes — scholars, 
teachers  and  outsiders.  At  such  gatherings  and  at  our 
social  visits  we  discussed  current  literature  and  the  poets, 
and  we  loaned  our  books  to  each  other.  There  were  many 
earnest  and  intelligent  readers  and  some  who  displayed 
considerable  literary  talent,  the  full  development  of  which 
was  prevented  by  other  interests  or  occupations.  This 
couplet  from  Gray's  Elegy  might  be  applicable  here : 

"Full  many  a  flower  is  born  to  blush  unseen 
And  waste  its  sweetness  on  the  desert  air." 

When  I  was  teaching  school  at  Shabbona  Center,  in 
the  winter  of  1855-6,  we  formed  a  little  coterie  for  mutual 
instruction  and  consideration  of  each  other's  productions. 
In  my  callow  youth  I  was  very  fond  of  poetry  and  weakly 
tried  to  court  the  muse.  I  had  read  nearly  all  the  works 
of  the  most  famous  poets  and  owned  several  volumes  of 


78  Recollections  1837—1910 

them.  Any  of  these,  as  wanted,  I  loaned  to  the  members 
of  our  circle ;  and  I  got  them  interested  in  verse-making, 
their  efforts  to  be  submitted  at  our  meetings  for  criti- 
cism and  mutual  benefit.  Some  of  these  productions,  in 
'our  judgment,  were  very  good;  but  I  have  forgotten  them 
all  and  even  the  names  of  most  of  the  members,  not  one 
of  whom,  except  myself,  is  now  alive,  I  believe.  One  of 
my  own  productions,  however,  has  been  preserved,  and 
this  sample  of  our  efforts  at  that  period  I  may  be  excused 
for  presenting.  It  was  written  one  evening  at  the  request 
of  a  young  lady  of  rare  talent  who  long  ago  passed  into 
the  beyond. 

Why  Carrie  I  am  not  a  poet, 

And  should  I  write  as  you  desire, 
Sure  everyone  who  read  would  know  it, 

And  say  I  touched  a  tuneless  lyre. 

But  he  who  meanly  shirks  the  burden 

Which  a  lady  bids  him  raise, 
Will  surely  never  win  a  guerdon 

Of  either  sympathy  or  praise. 

Then  shades  of  Moore  and  Burns  I  pray  ye, 

Inspire  my  muse  or  guide  my  pen 
As  spirits  do,  so  that  there  may  be 

Some  strains  like  yours  produced  again. 

I  pause  for  answer.    Ye  will  not  help  me. 

My  sluggish  muse  grows  dull  apace, 
And  critics  now  will  snarl  and  yelp  me, 

Because  I  lack  poetic  grace. 

Thus  far  my  effort  little  varies 

From  sermons  preached  most  any  day; 

They  in  vain  preliminaries 

Are  wasted  much,  and  so  my  lay. 


Recollections  1837—1910  79 

Like  them  I'll  close  with  benediction: 
May  grace  and  peace  abide  with  thee! 

But  hold!  I'll  make  just  one  restriction, 
I'll  pray  for  you,  if  you'll  for  me. 

How  she  may  have  criticised  the  foregoing  I  cannot 
now  remember. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

INTRODUCTION  OF  REAPERS  INTO  OUR  COMMUNITY — INVEN- 
TION OF  THE  MARSH  HARVESTER — TRIALS  AND  TROU- 
BLES OF  THE  INVENTORS FAILURE  OF  HARVESTERS 

MADE  IN   1860 SUCCESSFUL  OPERATIONS  AT  PLANO — 

LICENSE  TO   EASTER  AND  GAMMON HARD   FIGHT   FOR 

SUPREMACY. 

THE  late  J.  F.  Glidden,  inventor  of  barb  wire, 
brought  the  first  reaper,  a  Hussey,  into  DeKalb 
county  in  1845 ;  the  first  in  our  neighborhood  was 
a  McCormick  in  1850.  As  stated  before,  there  was  little 
need  of  such  machines  until  1854,  when  Crimean 
War  prices  and  rapidly  increasing  production  widened 
and  greatly  increased  the  demand  for  them.  Many,  of 
different  kinds,  were  sold  in  '55,  more  and  in  greater 
variety  in  '56,  and  so  on  until  '58,  when  the  poor  crops 
and  the  effects  of  the  panic  of  the  previous  year  halted 
the  business  in  its  upward  course. 

In  1855  our  grain  was  cut  by  an  Atkins  self  raker  hired 
for  the  purpose,  and  we  decided  to  buy  one;  but  we 
changed  our  minds  and  in  '56,  in  connection  with  a  neigh- 
bor, purchased  a  Mann  reaper,  because  it  was  simpler  and 
cheaper.  Next  year  we  bought  out  our  neighbor.  And 
this  brings  me  down  to  the  invention  of  our  harvester. 
In  justice  to  the  machine  and  to  its  inventors  I  think  it 
proper  to  tell  the  full  story  of  its  production  and  introduc- 
tion, which  will  show  how  it  originated  and  how  the 
foundation  of  the  modern  harvester  and  binder  was  laid — 

80 


Top  View  of  the  Mann  Reaper. 


The  Old  Reliable  "—The  Standard  McCormick  Reaper. 


Recollections  1837—1910  81 

such  story  having  been  partly  told  in  Farm  Implement 
News,  Chicago,  in  1893. 

THE  MARSH  HARVESTER. 

In  1856-'57  C.  W.  and  W.  W.  Marsh,  then  farmers  in 
DeKalb  county,  111.,  owned  a  Mann  reaper,  made  by  Has- 
kell,  Barker  &  Aldridge,  of  Michigan  City,  Ind.  This 
machine  had  a  long  canvas  carrier  or  endless  apron,  which, 
running  behind  the  drive  wheel,  delivered  the  grain  into 
a  receptacle,  whence  it  was  discharged  in  gavels  upon 
the  stubble  by  a  revolving  rake,  located  at  the  outer  edge 
of  the  receptacle  and  operated  by  an  attendant,  riding. 
The  canvas  carrier  was  elevated  at  its  outer  end  suffi- 
ciently to  allow  a  gavel  to  be  collected  between  its  point 
of  delivery  and  the  lower  edge  of  the  receptacle,  which 
was  swept  by  the  stubble.  The  drive  wheels,  four  feet 
and  two  inches  high,  occupied  a  fixed  position  forward  of 
the  platform  and  carrier.  I  operated  the  rake  on  this 
machine  and  we  did  good  work  with  it ;  but  the  Mann  was 
not  successful  on  the  market  because  it  required  two  men 
to  operate  it,  while  self-raking  reapers  were  accomplish- 
ing the  same  with  one  man;  there  was  a  strong  prejudice 
against  canvas  carriers,  and  as  built  by  the  firm  named 
the  machine  was  imperfect  in  construction. 

It  was  while  observing  how  nicely  a  gavel  could  be 
packed  in  the  receptacle  and  how  it  was  strung  out  by 
the  forward  motion  of  the  machine  in  the  act  of  being 
discharged  upon  the  stubble — as  with  every  side-delivery 
reaper — that  the  idea  of  binding  grain  on  the  machine 
came  into  our  heads.  Various  experiments  for  quick 
binding  were  made,  elevated  receiver  and  tables  were  con- 

7 


82  Recollections  1837—1910 

sidered  and  convenient  height  for  them  was  estimated; 
but  no  modification  of  the  Mann  reaper  was  attempted  for 
reasons  sufficiently  obvious  to  us  and  given  in  testimony 
in  suit  with  the  McCormicks. 

During  the  ensuing  year  we,  my  brother  and  I,  devel- 
oped the  distinctive  features  of  the  Marsh  harvester, 
viz. :  its  general  form ;  the  location  of  the  appliances  for 
binding  and  of  the  binders  outside  the  drive  wheel  and 
opposite  to  the  grain  wheel,  by  which  weight  would  be 
compensatorily  distributed,  proper  balance  obtained  and 
traction  increased;  the  plan  of  carrying,  elevating  over 
drive  wheel  and  delivering  grain;  and  unfortunately  for 
the  patents  a  bundle  carrier  was  also  studied  out.  The 
features  and  the  plans  having  been  settled,  patent  was 
applied  for  and  the  construction  of  the  harvester  begun 
early  in  June,  1858,  at  the  country  repair  shop  of  an  ama- 
teur mechanic.  We,  the  mechanic  and  I,  assisted  by  my 
brother,  broke  up  the  Mann  machine,  cut  down  its  drive 
wheel  to  three  feet  four  inches,  and  from  such  of  its 
gears  and  irons  as  we  could  use  and  others  picked  out 
of  a  scrap  pile,  we  provided  the  machinery  required  in 
the  erection  of  the  first  Marsh  harvester.  The  proposed 
bundle  carrier  was  not  constructed,  though  place  was 
made  for  it.  This  crude  machine  as  it  went  into  the 
field  was  in  form,  principles  and  purposes  the  same  as 
all  harvesters  of  this  class  that  followed ;  and  if  that 
first  harvester  were  standing  in  a  field  to-day,  with  tables 
and  platform  removed,  a  person  at  a  little  distance  would 
wonder  whether  it  was  an  old,  weather-beaten  Deering 
or  McCormick  or  other  standard  harvester,  minus  the 
automatic  binder.  The  grain  was  reeled,  cut,  carried  by 
the  platform  canvas  to  the  elevator,  taken  up  over  the 


Recollections  1837—1910  83 

drive  wheel,  delivered  into  the  receptacle  and  then  bound 
by  hand  on  tables,  one  at  each  end  of  the  receptacle,  by 
my  brother  and  myself,  standing  on  foot-platform  pro- 
vided. The  machine,  though  rudely  constructed,  went 
right  along,  and  before  harvest  was  over  we  could  handle 
all  that  a  five-foot  cut  could  deliver  to  us;  indeed,  we 
soon  became  so  expert  that  either  could  bind  alone  in 
heavy  grain  for  a  considerable  time. 

How  was  the  grain  harvested  at  that  time?  Consid- 
erable by  cradles,  some  by  headers,  but  the  most  of  it 
by  reapers,  from  which  latter  the  grain  was  discharged 
by  fork  and  hand  rake,  or  by  self -rake  into  the  stubble, 
at  the  average  rate  of  ten  or  twelve  acres  per  day,  to  be 
bound  by  four,  five  or  six  men,  according  to  width  of 
cut  and  conditions. 

What  was  accomplished  by  the  invention  of  the  Marsh 
harvester?  A  machine  was  provided  with  which  two  men, 
and  a  boy  or  girl  to  drive,  could  cut  and  bind  from 
eight  to  ten  acres  per  day.  (The  estimates  for  both  classes 
of  machines  are  moderate  averages,  as  with  either  much 
more  could  be  done  under  favorable  conditions.)  Thus 
in  the  saving  of  labor  and  in  reducing  the  expenses  of 
harvesting,  the  Marsh  brothers,  by  the  production  of 
their  harvester,  accomplished  as  much  as  C.  H.  Mc- 
Cormick  did  in  the  production  of  his  reaper,  and  the 
saving  and  reduction  came  where  since  it  has  been  most 
needed,  in  the  binding;  for  in  1858  a  man  on  their  ma- 
chine could  bind  by  hand  far  faster  than  ever  man  had 
bound  since  the  sun  has  been  ripening  grain,  in  short 
could  do  the  work  of  two  and  thus  save  half  the  expense. 

Had  any  machine  like  the  Marsh  harvester  been  pre- 
viously produced?  As  with  nearly  every  practical  in- 


84  Recollections  1837—1910 

vention,  the  idea  had  been  vaguely  foreshadowed,  but 
with  a  single  exception,  the  late  Augustus  Adams,  of 
Sandwich,  111.,  no  one  had  ever  before  bound  a  bundle 
on  a  machine,  made  for  that  purpose  and  practically  oper- 
ating in  the  field,  and  we  never  had  heard  of  any  such 
attempt.  Mr.  Adams  had  started  in  the  right  direction 
early  in  the  "fifties,"  but  before  he  went  far  enough  to 
settle  any  point  he  took  another  road  and  soon  quit. 

We  brought  out  the  first  practical  hand  binding  har- 
vester. Reapers  and  mowers,  so  called,  with  single  and 
double  driving  wheels,  could  be  found  in  the  records  and 
some  had  succeeded  in  cutting  grain  and  grass  before  the 
time  of  McCormick  and  Hussey  and  of  Lewis  Miller, 
as  anybody  "skilled  in  the  art"  knows,  but  to  these  later 
inventors  and  not  to  those  who  failed  to  make  their  efforts 
practical,  belongs  the  credit  of  establishing  the  reaper 
and  mower ;  and  so  we  claim  credit  for  producing  the  har- 
vester. Unfortunately  for  practical  inventors,  the  crude 
old  things,  that  never  got  beyond  the  patent  office  or  the 
first  machine,  are  made  as  much  of  by  patent  lawyers 
and  experts  as  live  and  useful  inventions,  and  can  be  effec- 
tively used  by  them  to  destroy  the  latter.  For  instance, 
such  an  impracticable  monstrosity  as  the  Watson  &  Ren- 
wick  patent,  a  nightmare  in  wheels  and  belts  and  toggles, 
is  set  forth  by  them  as  the  prototype  of  the  harvester 
and  binder. 

Was  the  Marsh  harvester  a  patentable  invention  ?  Most 
assuredly.  It  was  immediately  patented,  but  the  claim  as 
issued  was  a  combination  of  carrying  devices,  binding  ap- 
pliances and  bundle  carrier,  suggested  by  the  examiner 
and  accepted  by  our  twenty-five  dollar  patent  agent  as  a 
substitute  for  the  claims  which  I  had  suggested.  In  our 


Recollections  1837—1910  85 

ignorance  of  patents  we  supposed  that  the  claim  as  issued 
held  the  whole  machine.  Some  years  later,  when  first 
examined  by  a  patent  lawyer  and  long  before  any  one 
else  had  built  a  harvester,  it  was  discovered  that  the 
claim  was  worthless,  had  in  fact  been  beaten  by  ourselves, 
because  we  had  dropped  out  one  element  or  feature  of  the 
combination,  the  bundle  carrier.  The  patent  was  reissued 
soon  after  and  proper  claims  allowed  in  accordance  with 
the  rules  under  which  the  patent  office  was  then  acting 
and  with  Supreme  Court  decisions  sustaining  them.  A 
reissue,  of  course,  is  allowed  nothing  more  than  original 
specification  shows,  and  expires  at  the  same  time  as  would 
the  original  patent.  At  that  period  courts  were  ruling 
favorably  toward  patents  and  inventors ;  but  fifteen  years 
later  the  Supreme  Court  (the  court,  whose  members  in 
the  Hayes-Tilden  contest  voted  as  partisans  on  every 
question  that  had  any  effect  on  the  result),  apparently  in 
sympathy  with  the  granger  movement  and  demands,  be- 
gan ruling  the  other  way,  and  it  was  decided  that  in- 
ventors who  had  waited  so  long  as  we  before  reissue  had 
lost  their  original  rights.  Every  patent  lawyer  familiar 
with  the  Marsh-McCormick  case  (which  will  be  consid- 
ered later)  knows  that  had  a  model  been  made  of  our 
machine  as  it  went  into  the  field,  and  had  the  specifica- 
tions been  drawn  by  an  experienced  attorney,  the  first 
patent  would  have  been  one  of  the  strongest  in  harvesting 
machines  and  would  have  held  against  any  defense  that 
could  have  been  made. 

But  whether  or  not  the  original  reissued  patent  was 
technically  valid,  we  had  invented  and  produced  a  new 
machine,  unlike  others  on  the  market  in  form  and  pur- 
pose, of  such  merit  and  capacity  that  it  could  and  did 


86  Recollections  1837—1910 

revolutionize  the  prevailing  system  of  harvesting,  which 
even  the  late  Cyrus  H.  McCormick  acknowledged  by 
building  it  and  further,  in  1876  or  1877,  by  offering  to 
pay  a  royalty  for  the  use  of  the  Marsh  patents,  including 
those  taken  out  for  improvements,  of  $5  per  machine; 
then  remarking  before  myself  and  others  who  will  remem- 
ber, that  he  was  willing  to  pay  this  in  recognition  of  the 
invention,  though  he  believed  the  original  patent  as  reis- 
sued could  be  beaten  in  the  courts.  At  the  .same  time, 
Walter  A.  Wood  and  other  manufacturers  offered  to  pay 
more  in  order  to  effect  a  general  settlement;  but  there 
were  complications — others  interested  in  the  patents  and 
exclusive  licenses  given  long  before — that  prevented,  and 
the  matter  took  its  long  and  expensive  course  in  law. 
Had  it  been  possible  to  make  such  settlement  our  sub- 
sequent misfortunes  might  have  been  evaded ;  but  the  fight 
had  to  go  on,  and  I  cannot  blame  the  McCormicks  for 
making  a  vigorous  defense.  Mr.  Wood's  attorney  told 
me  years  after,  that  if  we  had  accepted  their  offer  and 
given  them  a  license  the  royalties  on  their  output  during 
the  remainder  of  the  life  of  the  Marsh  patents  would 
have  amounted  to  about  $180,000.  Other  concerns  at 
the  time  were  just  as  anxious  for  licenses. 

Returning  to  the  advent  of  the  Marsh  harvester  and 
following  its  course:  The  years  after  the  panic  of  1857 
and  the  first  years  of  the  Civil  War  constituted  a  period 
of  great  depression ;  we  could  only  devote  ourselves  to 
improving  the  machine  and  to  endeavors  to  interest  manu- 
facturers. In  1859  my  brother  went  to  Chicago  and  there 
had  the  foundation  parts  of  the  harvester  done  in  a  ma- 
chine shop.  We  finished  it  at  home  and  it  proved  thor- 
oughly reliable.  We  cut  and  bound  with  it  about  130 


Recollections  1837—1910  87 

acres.  Such  success  and  orders  from  our  neighbors  in- 
duced us  to  undertake  the  building  of  a  dozen  machines 
for  the  harvest  of  1860. 

It  was  a  foolish  undertaking.  Castings  were  made  in 
Chicago ;  machine  work  was  done  at  DeKalb,  and  fitting, 
etc.,  at  home  in  a  little  shop  built  for  the  purpose.  Ma- 
chines were  imperfectly  constructed,  of  course;  and  for 
the  unusually  heavy  growth  of  straw  that  season  they 
proved  to  be  lacking  in  both  strength  and  capacity.  At 
the  request  of  our  customers  we  gave  a  public  trial  in  a 
field  of  barley  on  the  4th  of  July  and  the  machine  failed 
to  satisfy.  It  was  our  first  experience  in  cutting  and 
binding  barley.  The  grain  was  thick  and  short ;  we  could 
not  get  the  machine  low  enough,  binding  was  difficult  and 
something  broke.  The  trial  was  a  failure  and  our  cus- 
tomers "went  back"  on  their  orders. 

This  was  an  awful  blow.  The  farm  was  mortgaged, 
machines  condemned  and  confidence  gone ;  and  the  future 
was  black  enough.  It  was  a  sorry  Fourth  for  us.  I  could 
not  sleep  that  night,  and  walked  the  road  in  agony  of 
'mind  till  morning.  None  of  those  who  had  helped  in 
making  the  model,  or  machines,  or  in  binding,  was  dis- 
posed then  to  claim  any  part  in  the  invention,  as  some 
of  them  were  years  later.  We  had  paid  all  the  bills  and 
no  one  yearned  for  any  share  of  the  honors.  Generally 
our  friends  advised  us  to  get  out  as  well  as  we  might  and 
quit.  But  with  some  alterations  we  made  two  or  three 
of  them  do  good  work  through  the  harvest,  and  the 
prompt  and  generous  encouragement  given  us  by  the  late 
Lewis  Steward,  of  Piano,  when  he  saw  the  machine  at 
work,  renewed  our  confidence. 

In  the  winter  of  1860-61  my  brother,  in  connection  with 


88  Recollections  1837—1910 

.Mr.  Hollister,  "Uncle  John,"  turned  out  a  machine  for 
the  harvest  of  1861  that  had  all  the  qualities  required  for 
field  work.  During  the  seasons  of  1861,  '62  and  '63  over 
400  acres  were  harvested  with  it.  In  the  fall  of  1863  we 
went  to  Piano  and  in  connection  with  Mr.  Steward  be- 
gan to  build  for  the  market  in  a  small  way.  We  put 
out  twenty-five  machines  for  harvest  of  1864,  all  which 
were  sold,  gave  satisfaction  and  were  paid  for.  Their 
satisfactory  work  in  the  hands  of  farmers  induced  Easter 
&  Gammon  to  apply  for  and  take  a  license  for  certain 
states. 

We  continued  making  and  successfully  marketing  to 
the  extent  of  our  means  and  capacity  at  Piano.  In  the 
course  of  two  or  three  years  Marsh  harvesters  were  also 
being  manufactured  at  Rockford,  111.,  by  Emerson,  Talcott 
&  Co.,  and  at  Springfield,  O.,  by  Warder,  Mitchell  &  Co. 
for  J.  D.  Easter  &  Co.,  and  for  Mr.  Gammon,  Easter  & 
Gammon  having  meantime  dissolved  partnership  and  di- 
vided territory.  The  struggle  for  supremacy  was  then 
fairly  on. 

There  were  various  makes  of  reapers — hand  rakers,  self 
rakers  and  droppers — but  only  one  harvester,  the  Marsh, 
and  it  had  the  field  against  it.  In  the  fierce  contest  that 
followed  for  place  on  the  market  J.  D.  Easter,  then  in 
his  prime,  was  the  leader,  Mr.  Deering  coming  in  later. 
The  Marsh  harvester  was  a  new  departure,  a  machine 
unlike  any  other  in  form  and  purpose.  Alone  it  had  to 
overcome  the  prejudices  of  customers,  increased  and  in- 
tensified by  publications  of  manufacturers  of  the  then 
standard  machines  and  their  agents,  who  were  unani- 
mous in  condemnation  of  the  pestilent  innovation.  The 
harvester  is  orthodox  now,  it  was  heterodox  then.  But 


Hon.  Lewis  Steward. 


Recollections  1837—1910  89 

finally  it  was  accepted  by  all.  Two  or  three  concerns 
took  licenses;  others  began  building  harvesters  without 
license  as  the  turn  of  the  trade  forced  them,  and  a 
few  made  them  merely  for  the  purpose  of  developing 
automatic  binders.  From  the  time  of  the  invention  of  our 
machine  to  the  harvest  of  1872,  fifteen  years,  no  other 
harvester  or  machine  similar  to  it  was  on  the  market; 
and  but  few,  comparatively,  of  these  outside  harvesters 
were  made  until  1875 ;  hence  no  other  machine  can  divide 
honors  with  the  Marsh  harvester  in  the  revolution  that 
had  been  accomplished. 

Alone  the  Marsh  harvester  changed  the  system  from 
"reaping"  to  "harvesting."  And  alone  it  prepared  the 
way  and  furnished  the  only  foundation  for  the  next  and 
last  great  advance  in  harvesting,  the  successful  introduc- 
tion of  the  automatic  binder,  which  at  first  it  carried  as 
an  attachment  and  with  which,  under  various  modifica- 
tions and  improvements,  it  was  later  incorporated,  the 
two  as  combined  constituting  now  the  harvesting  ma- 
chine of  the  world.  This  being  true,  has  any  other  grain 
cutting  machine  made  such  a  record  ?  And  a  little  further 
'on  I  will  show  by  the  testimony  of  successful  inventors 
-of  binders  how  impossible  it  had  been  to  produce  a  prac- 
tical automatic  binder  before  the  advent  of  the  Marsh 
harvester,  and  how  each  did  make  a  success  of  his  binder 
when  he  applied  it  to  the  Marsh  harvester. 

Although  the  Marsh  harvester  was  a  machine  that  ac- 
complished more  in  reducing  the  labor  and  expense  of 
harvest  than  any  of  the  reapers,  its  invention  or  pro- 
duction was  a  simple  process.  There  were  no  difficult 
mechanical  problems  to  solve  as  in  the  production  of  a 
binder.  The  only  remarkable  fact  to  note  is  this,  that  we 


90  Recollections  1837—1910 

.so  combined  and  used  the  elements  and  limited  means  at 
our  disposal  as  to  obtain  in  the  first  machine  the  results 
we  sought.  Knowing  little  or  nothing  of  mechanics,  but 
being  well  posted  in  practical  harvesting  as  it  was  then 
conducted,  we  took  the  most  direct  road  to  the  end  de- 
sired. We  did  not  have  to  invent  a  cutting  device  or 
reel  or  other  parts,  which  were  common  to  reapers  of 
the  day;  but  we  had  to  make  a  new  form  of  machine 
in  order  to  carry  out  our  plan  of  elevating  and  binding 
and  to  attain  the  necessary  balance  and  compactness.  This 
plan  or  form  is  shown  in  every  "binder"  (so  generally 
termed  now)  on  the  markets  of  the  world,  whether  the 
machine  be  made  in  America  or  Europe. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  AUTOMATIC  BINDERS  ON  MARSH  HARVEST- 
ERS— MARSH-MC  CORMICK  SUIT — JUDGE  DRUMMOND's 
DECISION — ESEK  COWAN^S  OPINION — LEADERS  OF  THE 
INDUSTRY. 

THE  first  patent  for  a  binder  was  taken  out  in  1850, 
and  during  the  ten  years  following  over  thirty  pat- 
ents were  issued  in  this  class;  but  only  two  ma- 
chines, Sherwood's  and  Burson's,  got  upon  the  market, 
the  latter  in  considerable  numbers.  Both  were  attach- 
ments to  reapers,  were  operated  by  hand  and  bound  with 
wire.  The  trade  soon  went  back  on  them ;  and  nothing 
further  was  heard  of  automatic  binders  until  late  in  the 
"sixties,"  when,  apparently,  a  new  generation  of  binder 
inventors  came  forth,  who,  happily  for  their  efforts,  found 
the  Marsh  harvester  ready  and  able  to  bear  them  to  suc- 
cess. 

John  F.  Steward,  now  in  charge  of  the  patent  depart- 
ment of  the  International  Harvester  Company  and  the 
best  authority  living  on  harvesting  machinery,  I  think, 
said  in  an  article  discussing  this  question : 

"Some  things  in  modern  self-binding  harvesters  came 
to  stay,  and  they  were  born  on  the  shoulders  of  the  Marsh 
harvester.  Locke,  Gordon,  Appleby,  Payne,  Carpenter, 
and  every  inventor  who  in  any  measure  successfully  bound 
grain,  first  did  so  by  placing  his  binding  attachment  upon 
a  Marsh  harvester,  taking  the  grain  from  a  receptacle 

91 


92  Recollections  1837—1910 

wherein  it  fell  and  removing  it  to  another  receptacle 
where  it  was  bound." 

But  in  order  to  put  his  and  my  statements  beyond  ques- 
tion I  will  refer  to  and  quote  from  the  sworn  testimony 
of  these  and  other  binder  inventors  and  experts,  as  given 
in  the  suit  of  the  Gordon  Bros,  and  Osborne  against  War- 
der, Bushnell  &  Glessner  in  1885,  long  after  the  Marsh 
patents  had  expired,  when  no  reason  existed  for  conceal- 
ing the  facts. 

Probably  the  first  man  to  discover  in  the  Marsh  har- 
vester the  only  sure  foundation  for  the  automatic  binder 
was  S.  D.  Carpenter,  then  living  at  Madison,  Wis.  He 
long  had  been  trying  to  produce  a  binder  but  had  failed, 
when  finally  our  harvester  suggested  a  new  effort.  His 
testimony  and  that  of  S.  L.  Sheldon,  who  sold  him  a 
Marsh  harvester  for  the  purpose,  showed  that  he  began 
this  work  as  early  as  1867,  or  earlier. 

James  F.  Gordon,  late  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  inventor 
of  the  once  famous  "Crane"  wire  binder,  in  his  testimony 
told  how  he  began  away  back  in  1862  to  work  on  a  binder 
and  continued  his  efforts  to  form  a  practical  combination 
of  reaper  and  binder  without  such  success  as  could  reach 
the  market  until  1870.  He  said  in  answer  to  question  10 : 
"Some  time  in  the  winter  of  1870-'71  I  succeeded  in  mak- 
ing arrangements  with  another  party  to  attach  the  binder 
to  a  Marsh  harvester."  Many  thousands  of  "Crane" 
binders  were  built  by  the  Marsh  harvester  people  and 
by  D.  M.  Osborne  &  Co. 

John  H.  Gordon,  brother  of  Jas.  F.,  then  of  Kalamazoo, 
Mich.,  in  1873  brought  out  his  packer  binder  on  a  Marsh 
harvester.  A  few  were  made  at  Piano ;  and  later  he  de- 
veloped that  excellent  wire  binder  known  as  the  "Gordon 


Recollections  1837—1910  93 

Buckeye,"  which,  like  others,  occupied  the  place  of  the 
manual  binders  on  the  Marsh  harvester. 

S.  D.  Locke  had  a  long  experience,  beginning  in  1861. 
Speaking  of  his  binder  of  1864,  which  failed,  in  answer 
to  question  193:  "What  harvester  did  you  put  it  on?" 
he  said :  "I  did  not  put  it  on  a  harvester,  I  put  it  on  a 
reaper."  He  fully  understood  the  distinction  between  the 
two.  In  answer  to  question  252 :  "My  experience  had 
taught  me  that  some  other  machine  than  an  ordinary 
reaper  must  be  employed  to  deliver  the  grain  successfully 
into  a  binding  machine."  About  1870  Walter  A.  Wood 
procured  a  Marsh  harvester  from  J.  D.  Easter  &  Co.  for 
Mr.  Locke's  experiments  and  by  1873  his  wire  binder, 
as  mounted  on  the  Marsh  harvester,  began  to  flow  out  of 
the  Wood  factory.  And  when  asked  in  question  284  if  he 
knew  of  any  practical  binder  between  1861  and  1869  he 
answered :  "I  did  not  and  do  not  now  believe  there  was 
one.  If  there  was  one,  it  was  buried  long  since  so  deep 
under  the  mechanical  rubbish  of  the  past  that  for  it  there 
cannot  be  any  resurrection."  Later  the  Wood  company 
built  the  Holmes  twine  binder;  that  also  was  developed 
upon  a  Marsh  harvester  and  went  upon  the  market  at- 
tached to  a  harvester  of  this  class. 

The  Withington  was  a  famous  wire  binder,  and  many 
thousands  of  them  were  built  and  sold  by  the  McCormick 
company.  Regarding  this  binder,  Wm.  R.  Baker,  a  vet- 
eran foreman  of  the  McCormick  works,  gave  some  in- 
teresting testimony  from  which  I  quote  as  follows : 

Q.  16.  "To  what  reaper  or  harvester  were  these  grain 
binding  machines  attached?" 

Ans.  "They  were  attached  to  harvesters  of  the  Marsh 
harvester  type." 


94  Recollections  1837—1910 

Q.  17.  "Where  were  they  attached  on  the  harvester 
of  the  Marsh  type  as  respects  the  location  of  the  platform 
on  which  the  men  stood  who  bound  the  grain  on  the 
Marsh  harvester?" 

Ans.  "On  the  same  side  of  the  machine,  occupying 
the  same  position." 

Q.  41.  "How  could  a  purchaser  of  your  Marsh  har- 
vester (meaning  the  harvester  built  by  the  McCormick 
company)  with  the  binder  stand  for  hand  binding,  con- 
vert the  same,  if  at  all,  into  a  combined  harvesting  and 
binding  machine?" 

Ans.  "By  simply  removing  the  hand  binding  attach- 
ment and  substituting  the  automatic  binder  in  its  place." 

Marquis  L.  Gorham  had  a  harvester  and  binder  in 
the  field  in  1874.  His  patents  were  purchased  by  the 
McCormick  company.  Orange  R.  Gorham,  cousin  of  the 
late  Marquis  L.  Gorham,  testified  in  the  same  case.  He 
was  asked: 

Q.  13.  "Where  was  this  binding  machine  located  upon 
the  Marsh  harvester  with  reference  to  the  location  of  the 
platform  (referring  to  platform  on  which  men  stood  and 
bound)  which  had  been  removed?" 

Ans.  "It  occupied  the  position  vacated  by  the  removal 
of  the  platform." 

Mr.  Appleby,  the  most  successful  and  famous  of  all 
the  inventors  of  binders,  undertook  to  attach  a  binder  to 
a  reaper  along  in  1868  or  '69.  Later  he  went  to  Beloit, 
Wis.,  and  there  experimented  on  a  Marsh  harvester  or  one 
of  the  same  type,  and  still  later  he  went  to  Mr.  Deering 
who  represented  the  Marsh  harvester  and  who  pushed  the 
machine  to  the  front.  There  can  be  no  dispute  about 
this  foremost  binder's  connection  with  our  machine. 


Recollections  1837—1910  95 

Other  inventors  of  binders  took  the  same  course,  but  I 
have  furnished  testimony  enough  to  prove  that  prior  to 
the  advent  of  the  Marsh  harvester  all  efforts  to  produce 
a  practical  automatic  grain-binder  in  connection  with  any 
reaper  had  failed,  and  that  soon  after  our  harvester  ap- 
peared upon  the  market  the  various  inventors  of  binders 
made  successful  attachments  of  their  machines  thereto, 
the  fittest  having  survived  and  held  place  on  our  form  or 
style  of  machine  to  this  day.  And  I  may  add  that  all 
efforts  made  since  to  produce  a  practical  binder  without 
the  harvester  for  its  foundation  have  failed,  some  of  them 
disastrously,  as  I  can  well  attest. 

Whether  the  patents  were  good  or  not,  the  Marsh 
harvester  was  the  first  of  its  class.  And  in  view  of  all  it 
accomplished,  first  as  a  hand-binding  harvester  and  next 
as  foundation  for  and  in  combination  with  the  automatic 
binder,  constituting  the  standard  grain  binding  harvester 
of  the  world,  every  machine  showing  its  plan  and  form, 
I  feel  justified  in  asking  what  other  machine  in  the  gen- 
eral class  of  harvesting  machinery  is  or  has  been  of 
greater  value  to  the  world  and  to  its  manufacturers,  or 
was  more  worthy  of  patent  protection  ? 

Now  I  will  have  something  to  say  about  the  patents. 
The  original  combination  claim,  suggested  by  the  ex- 
aminer to  Munn  &  Co.,  our  patent  agents,  as  the  easiest 
way  to  obtain  the  patent  office  fee  and  for  them  to  earn 
their  $25,  was  found  to  be  worthless  by  the  first  patent 
lawyer  who  examined  the  patent,  some  six  years  after  its 
issue,  just  as  we  were  beginning  to  put  machines  upon  the 
market  and  several  years  before  infringers  began  to  build. 
Having  obtained  instructions  from  the  patent  office,  I  un- 
dertook the  reissue.  I  also  had  applied  for  patent  on  im- 


96  Recollections  1837—1910 

provements,  which  was  granted  in  1864.  These  had  to  be 
reissued  again  after  our  lawyers,  employed  a  little  later, 
had  examined  them.  The  1864  patent  covered  the  exten- 
sion forward  of  the  elevator.  Another  patent  was  granted 
in  1867  covering  rear  drive  belt. 

To  state  it  briefly,  in  the  suit  against  the  McCormicks, 
the  only  one  carried  through,  the  other  suits  being  held 
in  abeyance,  we  set  forth  infringement  of  the  claims  cov- 
ering binders'  tables,  binders'  platform,  curved  deflector 
at  top  of  elevator,  location  of  binders'  platform  in  line 
with  drive  wheel  and  grain  wheel  for  traction,  fore  and 
aft  balance,  and  front  extension  of  elevator.  As  is  usual 
in  such  cases,  several  "hidden  away"  and  "abortive"  ef- 
forts of  the  past  were  brought  forward  to  defeat  the 
priority  of  our  claims ;  but  of  these  I  shall  take  no  notice. 

The  sharpest  fight  was  over  the  function  of  the  castor 
wheel,  under  the  bundle  carrier  located  behind  the  bind- 
ers' stand.  The  purpose  of  this  castor  wheel  was  to  pre- 
vent the  carrier  from  striking  the  ground,  especially  when 
turning  a  corner  in  the  field ;  but  as  the  model  made  for 
the  patent  office  was  not  provided  with  reel,  pole  and 
other  front  fixings,  because  no  claims  were  based  on  them, 
it  rested  back  on  the  castor  wheel  as  well  as  upon  the 
two  ground  wheels  (drive  wheel  and  grain  wheel),  hence 
the  defendants  contended  that  the  machine  patented  was 
a  three-wheeled  machine  and  must  be  hauled  by  a  limber 
tongue  or  pole,  that  is,  jointed  at  its  attachment  to  the 
machine,  and  that  consequently  such  of  our  claims  as  were 
based  on  the  assumption  that  our  patented  machine  was 
a  two-wheeler,  to  be  pulled  by  a  rigidly  attached  pole, 
were  worthless. 

Looking  at  the  denuded  model  any  one  might  think  it 


I 


i 


Recollections  1837—1910  97 

was  a  three-wheeler,  to  be  pulled  by  a  limber  pole,  pro- 
vided he  did  not  take  into  consideration  the  front  fixtures 
yet  to  be  added  and  did  not  know  that  the  draft  forward 
and  the  downward  strain  in  cutting,  with  sickle  beam  in 
front  of  the  two  ground  wheels,  would  surely  pitch  the 
machine  forward  and  render  it  inoperative,  practically, 
unless  supported  in  front  by  stiff  pole. 

In  my  testimony  I  explained  that  the  patented  machine 
was  a  two-wheeler  with  rigid  pole,  the  castor  being  simply 
a  floating  safety  wheel ;  that  the  main  frame  of  the  first 
harvester,  built  from  original  model,  projected  rearward 
for  bundle  carrier  and  this  safety  wheel,  but  that  we  went 
into  the  field  without  attaching  either,  and  never  did  in 
fact.  Defendants  contended  that  it  was  impossible  to 
operate  the  machine  constructed  according  to  model  and 
patent  without  use  of  limber  pole.  This  contention  re- 
sulted in  the  waste  of  much  time  and  in  much  expense  and 
ill  feeling.  It  was  dogmatic  science  on  a  rigid  level 
against  experience  in  the  grain  field,  and  it  was  ignorance 
ridiculing  what  it  did  not  understand. 

I  knew  that  such  floating  safety  wheels  had  been  sent 
out  with  all  the  Mann  machines  in  1857  to  support  the 
rear  of  the  platform  when  turning  corners,  and  I  knew 
for  what  purpose  our  castor  was  intended.  To  settle 
the  matter  two  full  sized  complete  machines  were  made 
from  the  model  of  1858,  one  by  Mr.  Bayliss,  another  de- 
fendant, and  one  by  ourselves.  The  first  was  built  with 
view  of  supporting  defendants'  theory  and  the  second 
with  full  knowledge  on  my  part  that  it  would  operate  the 
same  as  did  the  first  harvester  we  built. 

The  Bayliss  machine  was  tried  by  Mr.  Bayliss  and  his 
experts — no  one  on  our  side  being  present — who  reported 

8 


98  Recollections  1837—1910 

under  oath  that  the  machine  was  inoperative  with  stiff 
pole,  but  would  work  pretty  well  with  limber  pole.  As  it 
was  entered  as  "Defendants'  Exhibit"  in  this  McCormick 
suit,  we  had  right  to  try  it ;  and  it  and  our  full  sized  Marsh 
of  1858  were  put  in  the  same  grain  field.  It  showed 
plainly  that  the  builder  wanted  it  to  discredit  the  patent 
and  to  support  the  three-wheel,  limber  pole  theory,  as  it 
was  coarsely  constructed  and  disproportionately  heavy  in 
the  rear.  It  did  not  do  good  work  and  it  would  not 
operate  according  to  the  opposing  testimony;  with  the 
pole  limber  it  ran  wabbly  and  some  of  the  time  on  its 
nose,  lifting  castor  wheel  off  the  ground,  but  with  rigid 
pole  it  ran  steadily  and  without  any  difficulty  over  any 
ground  in  the  field.  We  wanted  Mr.  Bayliss  or  some  of 
his  experts  who  were  present  to  show  us  how  they 
managed  to  get  the  sort  of  work  they  had  testified  to, 
but  they  declined.  I  should  add  that  the  McCormicks 
did  not  build  that  machine,  nor  did  they  expert  it;  but 
they  used  it  in  their  defense,  not  knowing  the  character 
of  its  construction  and  operation.  Our  model  1858  ma- 
chine operated  as  I  had  testified  that  it  would  and  did 
good,  practical  work.  We  were  very  sorry  that  the 
judge  could  not  see  the  performances  of  both. 

This  castor  wheel  episode  had  no  effect  upon  the  judge's 
decision,  as  that  was  based,  not  on  the  merits  of  the  case 
or  any  of  the  testimony,  but  simply  upon  the  then  recent 
decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  which  rendered  invalid 
deferred  reissues ;  and  I  have  paid  more  attention  to  it 
than  it  deserves  because  the  defendants  made  so  much 
of  it,  especially  before  that  final  trial. 

And  I  have  dwelt  longer  on  the  harvester  than  I  in- 
tended ;  but  having  taken  hold  it  was  hard  to  let  go.  I  did 


Recollections  1837—1910  99 

not  undertake  this  review  because  it  was  agreeable  to  me, 
for  looking  back  over  our  part  in  the  history  of  the  har- 
vester I  can  recall  little  but  care  and  doubt  in  the  begin- 
ning, hard  work  and  bitter  contests  succeeding,  and  great 
loss  and  flat  failure  for  the  ending ;  but  I  felt  that  it  was 
a  duty  to  our  children,  if  to  no  one  else,  to  leave  a  record 
of  the  facts  regarding  the  course  of  the  Marsh  harvester. 

I  know  that  the  public  has  fallen  into  the  habit  of  giv- 
ing the  elder  C.  H.  McCormick  full  credit  for  the  inven- 
tion of  the  modern  harvesting  machine  as  if  it  were  his 
production  or  a  simple  improvement  on  his  reaper.  As 
well  might  it  be  said  that  Franklin  was  the  inventor  of 
the  telegraph  or  Morse  was  the  inventor  of  the  telephone. 
I  have  no  disposition  to  question  his  right  to  his  reaper 
or  the  greatness  of  his  work;  but  there  is  nothing  of 
his,  as  original  invention,  in  the  modern  self-binding 
grain  harvester. 

Judge  Drummond's  decision,  which  follows,  shows  that 
the  new  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  made  it  useless 
for  him  to  consider  the  merits  of  the  invention.  Our 
suit  was  next  in  number  to  the  Ellwood-Glidden  barb 
wire  case;  had  it  also  been  before  Judge  Blodgett  it 
would  have  been  decided  before  the  Supreme  Court  de- 
cisions killed  reissues,  as  theirs  was,  and  with  similar 
effect  upon  our  fortunes.  Judge  Drummond  was  not- 
ably slow. 


100  Recollections  1837—1910 

JUDGE  DRUMMOND'S  DECISION. 

"Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States, 
Northern  District  of  Illinois. 

Charles  W.  Marsh,  et  al.  ) 

vs.  ) 

Cyrus  H.  McCormick,  et  al.) 

"Drummond,  J. 

"This  case  was  argued  by  the  counsel  of  the  respect- 
ive parties  upon  the  general  merits  involved  in  the  plead- 
ings, exhibits,  and  evidence;  but  the  court  considers  it 
unnecessary  to  discuss  or  decide  any  other  question  in 
the  case  than  that  which  arises  upon  the  validity  of  the 
reissue  of  the  respective  patents  mentioned  in  the  plead- 
ings. Whatever  may  be  my  own  opinion  upon  the  valid- 
ity of  these  reissues  it  seems  to  me  that  recent  decisions 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  render  it 
necessary  for  this  court  to  hold  that  these  reissues  are  in- 
valid. There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Supreme  Court  has 
heretofore  decided  to  be  valid  many  reissues  obtained 
at  a  longer  interval  from  the  date  of  original  patents 
than  in  this  case;  but  that  court  in  its  recent  decisions 
several  times  repeated  seems  inclined  to  hold  and  to 
adhere  to  its  ruling  that  when  reissues  have  been  obtained 
after  the  lapse  of  so  many  years  as  in  this  case,  that 
laches  will  be  imputed  in  the  absence  of  any  explanation 
repelling  the  same  to  the  parties  obtaining  the  reissue 
and  therefore  that  they  are  invalid  on  that  account.  In 
this  case  no  explanation  of  the  delay  is  given,  and  there- 
fore in  conformity  with  these  several  rulings  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States,  I  think  I  must  hold 


Recollections  1837—1910  101 

in  this  case  that  the  reissues  are  invalid  and  that  the  bill 
must  be  dismissed." 

Judge  Drummond's  decision  simply  announced  that  the 
Marsh  patents  had  been  beaten  by  the  Supreme  Court's 
reversal  of  its  own  decisions  and  not  by  the  McCormicks. 
But  they  and  other  in f ringers  were  enabled  thereby  to 
trespass  with  impunity  upon  our  rights  in  the  machine, 
whether  legal  or  moral,  the  same  as  if  the  patents  had 
been  beaten  on  their  merits.  Had  the  question  of  laches 
been  raised  during  the  course  of  the  suit,  we  could  have 
furnished  as  good  and  sufficient  explanation  as  in  any 
case  of  the  kind. 

REMARKS  OF  ESEK   COWAN. 

After  the  expiration  of  the  patents  and  reissues,  one 
of  Walter  A.  Wood's  attorneys  sent  me  a  copy  of  the 
opinion  of  Esek  Cowan,  chief  counsel  of  the  Wood  com- 
pany. After  discussing  the  various  claims  he  said: 

"But  these  things  are  to  be  observed: 

"1.  The  Marsh  invention  was  a  very  meritorious  one, 
which  held  the  market  for  a  long  time  and  was  very 
generally  adopted. 

"2.  The  reissue  (No.  2015)  includes  nothing  but  what 
was  clearly  shown  and  clearly  described  in  the  original, 
though  claimed  in  connection  with  other  devices. 

"3.  The  reissue  is  within  seven  years  of  the  date  of 
the  patent  and  was  granted,  as  I  am  informed,  not  to 
cover  subsequent  inventions,  but  before  the  Marsh  har- 
vester had  gone  into  use  to  any  extent. 

"4.  The  very  stringent  doctrine  of  the  Supreme  Court 
may  perhaps  be  a  trifle  modified  in  view  of  these  facts, 


102  Recollections  1837—1910 

and  if  so  the  liability  of  the  Wood  company  would  be 
measured  by  hundreds  of  thousands,  even  at  a  very  mod- 
erate royalty  *  *  * 

"It  seems  to  me  that  it  would  be  only  prudent  to  make 
such  a  settlement  in  view  of  the  uncertainty  of  litigation, 
and  of  the  very  serious  consequences  to  your  company,  if 
the  decision  in  the  McCormick  case  should  be  favorable 
to  the  patents." 

One  can  imagine  what  a  difference  in  our  fortunes 
proper  issue  of  our  patents  would  have  made. 

In  speaking  of  the  bitter  fight  against  the  harvester  I 
did  not  mean  to  pass  any  reflections  upon  the  methods  or 
practices  of  the  opposing  manufacturers.  Strenuous  com- 
petition was  the  rule  in  those  days.  For  each  machine  a 
fight  for  life  on  the  market  had  to  be  made.  The  mak- 
ers and  representatives  of  the  various  reapers  were  con- 
tinually at  war  with  each  other,  in  the  fields,  at  trials  and 
in  their  publications;  but  the  harvester,  being  distinctly 
different,  had  to  bear  the  brunt  of  their  combined  attacks. 

The  leaders  of  that  period  were  like  generals  of  op- 
posing armies,  winning  and  losing  battles — advancing, 
retreating,  strengthening,  re-forming  and  again  march- 
ing forward.  They  lived  strenuous  lives  and  some  fell  by 
the  way.  Against  the  earlier  pioneers,  McCormick,  Hus- 
sey,  Esterly,  Seymour  and  Morgan,  J.  H.  Manny,  Talcott 
and  Emerson,  et  al,  there  rushed  into  the  arena  such  grand 
men  as  D.  M.  Osborne,  Walter  A.  Wood,  Lewis  Miller, 
the  Whiteley  brothers,  Ben.  Warder,  Cyrenus  Wheeler, 
Sam.  Johnston,  et  al.  "There  were  giants  in  those  days." 

And  when  our  harvester  entered  the  field  besides  our- 
selves and  the  Steward  brothers — Lewis,  George  and 
John  F. — its  flag  was  borne  forward  by  J.  D.  Easter,  E. 


William  Deering. 


Recollections  1837—1910  103 

H.  Gammon,  William  Deering,  Ralph  Emerson  and  W. 
A.  Talcott.  They  planted  it  so  firmly  that,  with  its  ally 
the  automatic  binder,  it  has  been  able  to  "hold  the  fort" 
against  all. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

RUSH  TO  PIKE'S  PEAK  IN  1859 — EXTREME  DEPRESSION 
PRECEDING  THE  WAR — GREAT  CROPS  IN  1860 — AWFUL 
TORNADO  IN  1860. 

IN  1858  gold  was  discovered  at  or  in  the  vicinity  of 
Pike's  Peak,  Colo.  The  exaggerated  reports  of  the 
findings  were  readily  believed  by  those  of  our  people 
who  were  out  of  employment  or  had  suffered  most  from 
the  effects  of  the  recent  panic,  the  worthless  money  and 
the  poor  crops.  They  turned  in  that  direction  for  relief, 
and  thousands  of  them  in  1859  took  their  weary  course 
across  the  plains,  generally  illy  provided  for  such  a  jour- 
ney. Many  started  on  foot,  some  with  so  little  means 
that  they  had  to  take  the  chance  of  working  or  begging 
their  way  through. 

The  sufferings  on  the  way  and  on  their  arrival  in  that 
then  barren  and  uninhabited  region  can  better  be  im- 
agined than  described.  Hundreds  died  from  want  and 
exposure  and  the  various  hardships  of  the  journey  and 
return;  for,  as  little  gold  was  found,  scarcely  any  for 
the  bare-handed,  the  majority  had  to  turn  back  under 
conditions  much  less  favorable  than  when  they  started  out. 

A  humorous  illustration  of  the  trip  was  that  of  the 
party  that  passed  through  this  section  early  in  the  pil- 
grimage with  good  team  and  gaily  painted  wagon,  on 
the  clean  canvas  cover  of  which  latter  was  painted  in  big 
letters  the  legend  "Pike's  Peak  or  Bust,"  and  many 
weeks  later  returned  with  team,  lean  and  crippled,  and 

104 


Recollections  1837—1910  105 

wagon,  worn  and  scarred,  bearing  on  its  tattered  canvas 
under  the  said  legend  the  words,  "Busted,  by  Thunder," 
scrawled  with  the  burnt  point  of  a  stick. 

These  people  were  not  looking  for  silver,  and  many 
rocks  rich  in  that  metal  were  pawed  aside  in  their  fruit- 
less search  for  gold.  However,  many  staid  because  they 
had  to  stay,  more  gold  was  discovered  and  later  much 
silver,  the  result  of  it  all  being  that  an  empire  in  extent 
and  wealth  was  founded  with  Denver  for  its  capital. 

The  blighted  grain  of  1858  and  the  drouth  and  frosts 
of  1859  had  provided  no  means  for  recovery  from  the 
effects  of  the  panic  of  1857,  and  we  entered  1860  in  deep 
depression.  But  nature  did  more  for  us  that  year  than 
it  ever  had  done  before  or  has  done  since ;  it  gave  us  the 
best  of  all  our  crop  seasons.  The  winter  was  steadily 
and  moderately  cold.  Soon  after  the  beginning  of  the 
year  snow  fell  without  wind  to  the  depth  or  six  or  seven 
inches.  This  made  a  good  foundation  for  sleighing  and 
more  snow  falling,  sleighing  continued  good  until  about 
the  first  of  March,  when  it  melted  away  so  gradually 
under  warm  sunshine  that  the  ground  dried  as  fast  as  it 
was  uncovered  and  the  roads  continued  good  while  the 
frost  was  coming  out.  The  fields  were  ready  for  seed- 
ing as  early  as  March  10.  We  began  sowing  wheat  that 
day  and  dust  followed  the  drag. 

The  weather  continued  wholly  favorable  through  the 
season  with  the  result  that  our  crops  of  every  kind, 
grain,  grass,  vegetables  and  fruit,  were  enormous.  The 
(wheat  crop  gave  good  returns  to  those  who  sold  early, 
as  prices  were  fair  for  a  few  weeks  after  harvest,  and 
the  yield  averaged  about  thirty  bushels  per  acre.  But 
the  increasing  excitement  of  the  presidential  campaign, 


106  Recollections  1837—1910 

as  the  day  of  election  grew  near,  depressed  the  markets, 
and  the  evident  determination  of  the  south  to  secede 
after  the  election  of  Lincoln  demoralized  business  in  gen- 
eral. Prices  of  all  products  rapidly  declined  and  of  some 
fell  below  the  cost  of  production.  Corn  during  the  win- 
ter following  sold  as  low  as  ten  cents  per  bushel.  A 
considerable  portion  of  the  crop  was  burned  for  fuel. 

About  the  middle  of  May,  1860,  a  terrible  tornado 
crossed  the  Mississippi  river,  partly  destroying  Albany 
on  this  side  and  killing  several  people  there;  thence  it 
went  eastward  across  the  state,  leveling  everything  in  its 
way.  It  passed  through  Lee  Center,  destroying  several 
houses  and  killing  a  few  people;  it  plowed  a  channel 
through  Twin  Grove,  erased  a  farm  house  northwest  of 
Shabbona  Grove,  killing  its  three  inmates;  then  bounded 
upward  to  strike  again  at  Dundee,  where  it  did  consid- 
erable damage  and  passed  on  to  dissipate  itself  over  Lake 
Michigan.  Fortunately  its  track  was  narrow,  only  about 
twenty  rods  wide  where  its  awful  power  was  most  man- 
ifest, and  the  country  through  which  it  passed  was  thinly 
settled  at  that  time,  else  there  would  have  been  much 
loss  of  life  and  property. 

We  drove  westward  along  its  track  several  miles  the 
next  day.  Where  the  track  was  narrowest  and  its  great- 
est force  exerted,  everything  was  pulverized;  the  prairie 
was  scalped,  large  boulders  were  torn  from  the  sod  and 
carried  off  bodily.  The  cast  iron  drive  wheel  of  a  Mc- 
Cormick  reaper  was  found  nearly  two  miles  from  the 
place  where  the  machine  was  demolished.  The  tires, 
strung  out  and  twisted  like  a  string,  and  a  few  scattered 
spokes  were  all  that  we  could  find  of  a  wagon  that  had 
stood  at  the  farm  house.  The  whirl  of  the  tornado  was 


Recollections  1837—1910  107 

toward  its  center  and  against  the  course  of  the  sun,  as 
was  plainly  to  be  seen  from  the  circular  marks  left  on 
the  ground,  and  the  stuff  caught  in  its  grasp  was  shot 
up  from  the  center  and  widely  scattered  over  the  country 
on  both  sides,  as  no  wind  was  blowing  across  its  track. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

STRENUOUS  PRESIDENTIAL  CAMPAIGN  IN  1860 — WAR  TALK 
AND  MILITARY  ORGANIZATION  GENERALLY  DEPRECATED 
IN  THE  NORTH — BUT  ATTACK  ON  FORT  SUMTER 
UNITED  ALL  PARTIES  AGAINST  SOUTH BELIEF  GEN- 
ERAL THAT  WAR  WOULD  BE  SHORT — VOLUNTEERS 
CLASSIFIED  AND  CONSIDERED. 

DURING  the  course  of  the  presidential  campaign 
all  parties  made  strenuous  efforts  to  arouse  the 
voters,  and  the  excitement  was  intense.  The  Wide 
Awakes,  a  semi-military  organization,  uniformed  and 
drilled,  comprising  a  majority  of  the  young  Republicans, 
with  torches  and  banners  and  music  paraded  at  the 
political  meetings  of  their  party.  The  more  hot-headed 
organized  companies  for  military  drill,  having  for  ex- 
ample Col.  Ellsworth  and  his  Zouaves,  whose  wonderful 
performances  were  witnessed  at  the  Wigwam  in  Chicago, 
where  Lincoln  was  nominated,  and  at  other  great  public 
gatherings.  Probably  this  military  spirit  got  its  impetus 
or  incentive  not  so  much  from  expectation  of  war  with 
the  south  as  from  the  newspaper  accounts  of  the  spec- 
tacular performances  of  the  French  emperor's  Zouaves 
and  Turcos  in  the  war  with  Austria  the  year  before. 
Whether  so  or  not,  I  know  that  we  Lincoln  Republicans 
had  no  ill-feeling  against  the  south ;  that  we  had  no  dis- 
position to  meddle  with  slavery  there,  and  that  all  we 
wanted  was  to  keep  slavery  within  its  bounds  and  to  pre- 
serve the  union,  hoping  that  the  good  sense  and  patriotism 

108 


Recollections  1837—1910  109 

of  the  majority  on  both  sides  of  the  line  would  prevent 
the  hot-heads  from  rushing  the  country  into  war. 

After  the  election,  when  it  became  evident  that  South 
Carolina  and  probably  other  southern  states  really  meant 
to  secede,  nearly  everybody  realized  the  gravity  of  the 
situation,  and  many  foresaw  the  direful  conflict  confront- 
ing us.  The  military  spirit  subsided  somewhat.  The 
hilarity  of  the  campaign  was  succeeded  by  depression. 
Thoughtful  men,  and  those  who  had  much  at  stake,  hated 
the  idea  of  war  with  all  its  fearful  consequences.  I  was 
one  of  the  latter.  The  year  before  I  had  married,  there 
was  a  baby  boy  in  the  house  and  we  had  "great  expecta- 
tions" on  our  harvester.  It  seemed  to  us  that  war  would 
interrupt  all  our  plans  and  spoil  the  best  years  of  our 
lives.  Hence  we  deprecated  offensive  agitation,  still  hop- 
ing for  compromise. 

But  not  all  felt  as  we  did.  Some  were  too  violently 
inflamed  against  the  south  to  keep  quiet ;  and  there  were 
many  who,  having  lost  much  or  all  during  the  long  period 
of  hard  times,  or  being  out  of  employment  on  account 
of  the  industrial  stagnation,  cared  little  for  consequences 
and  were  waiting  for  anything  to  turn  up;  these  were 
ready  to  lend  themselves  to  any  kind  of  fun  or  excitement. 

In  nearly  all  rural  communities  there  are  restless  and 
ambitious  persons,  generally  young  men,  who  seek  to  be 
leaders  and  have  their  followers,  and  who  take  advantage 
of  any  occasion  to  push  themselves  forward.  It  was  so 
in  our  community.  They  had  organized  a  sort  of  mil- 
itary company  during  the  campaign  and  had  drilled  the 
boys  as  best  they  could,  using  laths  and  sticks  for  guns. 
But  they  had  attracted  more  ridicule  than  serious  atten- 


110  Recollections  1837—1910 

tion.  They  were  quiet  after  election  until  somebody 
introduced  a  bill  in  the  state  legislature,  providing,  as  I 
remember,  among  other  things,  that  the  guns  in  the  ar- 
senal at  Springfield  be  loaned  to  such  amateur  military 
companies.  At  once  the  boys  were  called  out  and  a  public 
drill  at  the  little  town  of  Shabbona  Grove  was  announced, 
where  recruits  would  be  solicited.  This  brought  together 
several  of  us  who  were  opposed  to  such  demonstration. 
We  did  not  regard  the  matter  seriously;  we  simply  did 
not  like  it  and  were  disposed  to  make  fun  of  it.  Some 
one  remarked  "Marsh,  why  not  fire  one  of  your  poems 
at  them?"  It  was  so  agreed,  the  fellow  who  proposed 
it  offered  to  read  the  production  to  the  crowd  that  would 
be  witnessing  the  drill.  I  wrote  the  "poem"  and  gave  it 
to  him;  but  after  getting  there  I  asked  him  not  to  read 
it,  as  these  would-be  soldiers  were  mostly  good  fellows 
and  were  being  sufficiently  guyed  by  the  crowd. 

Because  it  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  feelings  of  con- 
servative young  Republicans  at  that  time,  and  because 
I  think  it  rather  witty,  I  will  reproduce  it. 

INVOCATION  TO  THE  GOD  OF  WAR. 

By  the  Chaplain  of  the  Shabbona  Invincibles. 

O,  valient  Mars,  if  it  be  thy  pleasure, 

Look  down  upon  us  here,  I  pray. 
I  know  thou  hast  but  little  leisure, 

Hearing  so  many  prayers  each  day. 

If  of  such  prayers  thou'st  had  o'er  plenty, 

Put  some  aside  and  'tend  to  us, 
For  we're  the  boys  will  save  the  kentry; 

We've  sworn  to  stop  this  pesky  fuss. 


Recollections  1837—1910  111 

But  much  I  fear  thou'st  heard  it  stated, 
That  we  were  "pukes"  or  "string-beans"  we; 

If  so  we  have  been  much  berated. 
Behold  us,  gallant  sons  of  thee! 

Our  Capting  P ,  gellorious  feller! 

Knew  we  the  ship  of  state  could  save, 
And  so  he  called  us  boys  together, 

And  to  us  all  directions  gave. 

Him  Capting  did  we  then  elect, 

And  coaxed  him  to  accept  the  station; 
His  modesty's  great,  but  we  did  'spect 

His  love  was  greater  for  the  nation. 

"Ah,  well,"  said  he,  "my  friends  I'll  stand  it;" 

And  then  he  swore  by  the  eternal 
That  if  his  kentry  should  demand  it, 

He'd  not  refuse  though  made  a  Kernel. 

Our  ossifers  chose  we  from  the  boldest, 

Our  leaders  and  our  mighty  men. 
We've  always  done  just  as  they  told  us, 

No  matter  what  or  where  or  when. 

Thus  in  strict  dis'pline  have  we    grown  up, 

And  never  have  dared  disobey; 
At  caucus  or  town-meeting  turn-up, 

We  always  do  just  as  they  say. 

O,  could  the  emp'ror  of  France  but  see  us, 

When  our  ossifers  put  us  through; 
When  they  whoa-haw  and  then  back-gee  us, 

He'd  swear  for  spite  par  sacre  dieu! 

And  back  to  France  at  once  he'd  go; 

Proclaim  of  war  he'd  now  have  done. 
Disband  his  Zuaves  and  corps  Turco, 

And  cry  "my  occupation's  gone." 


112  Recollections  1837—1910 

And  now  great  Mars  your  help  we  crave, 

Though  without,  I  think,  we'll  fight  quite  well. 

For  we're  so  bold,  our  chiefs  so  brave, 
We'll  foller  them  if  they— go— to— h— 11. 

Soon  after  it  was  reported  that  the  bill  referred  to  had 
been  defeated  and  the  company  disbanded.  But  a  few 
weeks  later,  this  military  spirit  was  revived  as  by  an 
electric  shock  and  the  fires  of  patriotism  kindled  through- 
out the  north  by  the  news  of  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter. 
Most  of  these  boys  and  their  "ossifers,"  and  of  those 
who  poked  fun  at  them,  went  into  the  real  war  when 
the  call  came  and  fought  bravely  on  many  a  bloody  field. 

The  arrogant  and  reckless  act  of  the  south  in  firing 
upon  Fort  Sumter  aroused  the  north  to  a  white  heat  of 
indignation.  It  was  looked  upon  as  a  direct  challenge 
to  this  section,  and  our  people,  with  few  exceptions  and 
regardless  of  party  or  previous  policy,  accepted  it  as 
such  and  stepped  promptly  forward  to  meet  it.  The 
first  blow  had  been  struck,  compromise  was  now  out  of 
the  question,  the  union  must  be  preserved  and  the  rebels 
punished  for  their  temerity.  The  president's  first  call 
for  seventy-five  thousand  volunteers  to  serve  for  three 
months,  made  a  few  days  after  the  fall  of  Sumter,  was 
answered  as  soon  as  it  was  heard.  The  boys  tumbled 
over  each  other,  so  to  speak,  to  get  place  in  the  ranks, 
and  so  they  did  when  second  call  was  made  a  couple  of 
weeks  later. 

Now  most  of  the  men  who  responded  to  these  first 
calls  were  not  actuated  so  much  by  burning  patriotism, 
or  by  a  disposition  to  really  hurt  the  people  of  the  south, 
as  they  were  to  show  the  latter  that  the  north  had  got 
tired  of  their  foolishness  and  meant  to  make  them  behave 


Recollections  1837—1910  113 

— the  opportunity  to  enlist  offering  relief  from  the  pre- 
vailing inactivity  and  employment  in  a  novel  and  excit- 
ing but  not  particularly  dangerous  undertaking.  Most 
of  our  people  believed  that  the  prompt  and  general  up- 
rising in  the  north  would  bring  the  people  of  the  south 
to  their  senses  and  that  the  trouble  soon  would  be  over. 
They  were  encouraged  in  this  belief  by  such  eminent  au- 
thority as  William  H.  Seward,  Lincoln's  secretary  of 
state,  who  so  signally  failed  to  understand  the  temper 
of  the  south  and  the  magnitude  of  the  impending  struggle 
that,  even  after  the  fall  of  Sumter,  he  asserted  that  the 
contest  would  be  settled  inside  of  three  months.  And 
our  own  Gen.  John  F.  Farnsworth  told  us  in  one  of  his 
speeches  that,  if  need  were,  our  women  with  their  brooms 
could  sweep  the  rebels  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  In  short, 
comparatively  few  at  that  time  anticipated  much  serious 
fighting. 

But  the  southern  agitators  had  worked  their  people  into 
a  fury  of  hate  and  pride  by  representing  that  we  of  the 
north  were  sordid,  selfish,  ever  disposed  to  encroach  upon 
the  rights  of  others,  and  so  cowardly  that  a  half  dozen 
of  us  would  be  no  match  for  one  of  them ;  so  really  they 
did  not  want  to  be  in  association  or  union  with  us  and 
they  had  no  idea  that  we  could  make  them  stay  in.  Of 
course,  with  such  notions  in  their  heads,  any  reasonable 
compromise  or  settlement  was  impossible.  Their  hatred 
and  contempt  for  us  and  our  lack  of  enmity  toward  them 
will  account  for  the  discomfiture  of  our  armies  in  the 
first  battles  of  the  war.  Our  soldiers  and  the  folks  at 
home  had  to  suffer  much  before  their  anger  was  suffi- 
ciently aroused  to  make  them  anxious  to  hurt  the  south. 

People  in  late  years,  not  familiar  with  the  conditions 

9 


114  Recollections  1837—1910 

existing  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  have  been  disposed 
to  give  to  those  who  first  enlisted  more  credit  for  pa- 
triotism and  courage  than  to  those  who  enlisted  later,  and 
also  to  speak  disparagingly  of  the  "stay-at-homes"  of 
that  period.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  latter  often  dis- 
played real  self-denial  in  giving  place  to  those  who  wanted 
to  go,  or  they  held  back  because  their  self-sacrifice  in 
leaving  would  be  greater  than  that  of  those  who  were 
crowding  in  before  them;  besides  men  were  needed  at 
home  as  well  as  in  the  army,  and  generally  those  who 
remained  at  home  were  the  ones  most  needed  there.  Re- 
membering the  conditions  I  think  "honors  were  easy"  as 
between  the  men  who  first  enlisted  and  the  men  who  re- 
mained. And  I  think  also  that  those  who  last  enlisted 
under  the  inducement  of  big  bounties  should  not  throw 
stones  at  the  stay-at-homes.  But  if  special  credit  for  pa- 
triotism and  self-sacrifice  is  due  to  any  class  it  is  to  the 
men  who  came  forward  immediately  after  the  first  year 
of  the  war  when  its  horrors  were  manifest  in  the  killed 
and  wounded  and  the  sick,  and  when  the  magnitude  of 
the  struggle  was  apparent  to  all.  In  all  this  I  do  not 
mean  to  detract  in  the  least  from  the  credit  due  to  our 
western  volunteers,  whether  they  enlisted  early  or  late, 
for  I  believe  this  section  turned  out  the  best  and  bravest 
men,  taking  them  as  a  whole,  that  ever  learned  to  be 
soldiers.  Southern  soldiers  were  just  as  brave  but  not 
so  steady. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

DEMORALIZATION    OF    OUR    PAPER    CURRENCY STUMP-TAIL 

MONEY — GREENBACKS — SHINPLASTERS  AND  STAMPS — 
A  GLOOMY  PERIOD. 

THE  deplorable  conditions  just  before  and  at  the 
beginning  of  the  war  were  intensified  by  the  com- 
plete demoralization  of  our  paper  currency.  Fol- 
lowing the  collapse  of  the  wild  cat  money  and  of  the 
various  banks  of  issue  that  failed  during  the  panic  of 
1857,  the  bad  years  of  1858  and  1859  gave  us  little  sur- 
plus for  the  market  and  money  of  any  sort  was  mighty 
scarce  with  us.  Gold  and  silver  money  was  in  limited 
circulation  and  our  paper  currency  was  mostly  bills  of 
our  state  banks  secured  by  the  bonds  of  southern  states. 
The  value  of  these  bills  followed  the  quickly  successive 
movements  of  these  states  in  their  course  of  secession. 
For  instance,  when  the  legislature  of  a  state  was  called 
together  to  consider  the  question  of  secession  the  bonds 
of  that  state  immediately  fell  off  several  points  and  the 
bills  secured  by  them  would  be  marked  down  accordingly 
at  the  financial  headquarters  in  Chicago,  notices  being 
sent  out  stating  the  discount  or  the  value  put  upon  them 
by  the  banks.  Next  would  come  the  news  that  the  legis- 
lature had  convened  and  resolution  for  secession  intro- 
duced, then  another  fall  in  bonds  and  bills  would  follow ; 
finally  the  state  would  secede  and  the  bonds  and  bills 
would  be  nearly  or  quite  worthless.  As  several  states 
were  in  the  course  of  secession,  some  moving  quickly 

115 


116  Recollections  1837—1910 

and  others  slowly,  the  complications,  the  uncertainties  and 
the  rapidity  of  the  changes  from  bad  to  worse  may  be 
imagined.  If  we  had  bills  in  pocket  we  knew  not  what 
the  value  of  one  or  the  other  might  be  or  which  would 
be  worthless  next  morning.  When  the  war  was  really 
on,  all  this  money,  known  at  the  time  as  "stump-tail," 
was  worthless;  and,  as  the  better  secured  bills  of  other 
northern  states  seldom  reached  us,  we  had  to  depend 
upon  the  little  gold  and  silver  in  circulation. 

The  extraordinary  expenses  incident  to  the  prepara- 
tions for  and  prosecution  of  the  war  soon  exhausted 
the  treasury  and  forced  the  government  to  borrow  from 
banks  and  capitalists;  and,  as  the  diminished  revenues 
were  incapable  even  of  furnishing  the  means  for  repaying 
the  loans,  the  government,  as  emergencies  compelled,  is- 
sued treasury  notes  due  at  fixed  times — one  year,  two 
years  and  three  years.  These  notes,  because  of  the  fear 
that  the  government  would  be  unable  to  pay  them  at  ma- 
turity, soon  suffered  discount  for  coin,  which  latter  was 
being  withdrawn  from  circulation.  Next  the  banks  sus- 
pended specie  payment.  Finally,  early  in  1862,  when  it 
became  evident  that  the  government  needed  very  much 
more  money  than  it  could  obtain  through  its  revenues 
or  by  borrowing,  and  that  it  could  not  maintain  its  notes 
at  par  with  coin,  the  legal  tender  act  was  passed  by 
Congress  and  bills,  since  known  as  "greenbacks,"  were 
issued  as  needs  demanded.  Immediately  all  the  coin  was 
withdrawn  and  we  saw  no  more  in  circulation  during  the 
seventeen  years  ensuing.  Many  young  people  in  this 
country  reached  the  age  of  maturity  without  ever  having 
handled  a  piece  of  gold  or  silver  money  and  only  had 
seen  such  in  the  show  windows  of  banks  and  brokers. 


Recollections  1837—1910  117 

The  withdrawal  of  all  the  coin  left  us  without  change 
of  any  kind  except  postage  stamps,  which  came  into  gen- 
eral use  for  such  purpose  and  went  largely  into  circula- 
tion; hence  the  slang  expression  "he's  got  the  stamps," 
as  applied  to  a  person  having  money  in  plenty.  Some 
months  later,  to  meet  the  urgent  demands  for  change, 
Congress  authorized  the  issue  of  fractional  currency, 
known  thereafter  as  "shinplasters." 

The  country  was  now  provided  with  standard  paper 
money,  money  that  would  pass  for  its  face  in  trade  and 
in  the  payment  of  debts.  Although  its  value,  as  meas- 
ured by  coin,  might  decline,  such  decline  was  only  shown 
in  the  advancing  prices  of  things  bought  and  sold.  It 
proved  to  be  excellent  money  for  the  times.  Therewith 
provided,  with  good  crops  and  increasing  foreign  demand 
for  our  agricultural  surplus,  and  also  with  large  and  in- 
creasing war  demands  for  the  products  of  both  factory 
and  farm,  the  northern  states  soon  recovered  from  pre- 
vious losses  and  entered  upon  a  long  period  of  material 
prosperity. 

But  the  years  of  the  war  were  sad  and  gloomy.  Our 
young  men,  our  friends  and  relatives,  were  scattered 
through  all  the  armies,  and  battles  were  so  frequent  that 
constantly  we  were  watching  with  solemn  interest  the 
reports  from  the  bloody  fields  to  learn  who  had  been 
killed  or  wounded.  After  every  important  battle  one  or 
more  of  our  families  had  lost  a  member.  And  the  re- 
ports of  sickness  and  death  were  about  as  frequent  from 
the  hospitals.  Nearly  or  quite  every  family  in  our  neigh- 
borhood was  called  upon  to  mourn  such  loss  or  losses 
before  the  war  was  over. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

TRIP  TO  MEMPHIS  WITH  BOWIE-KNIFE  POTTER — HIS  COL- 
LISION WITH  PRYOR — HORRORS  OF  WAR — CASE  OF  ROD- 
MAN COOK INTERVIEW  WITH  WAR  GOVERNOR  YATES. 

JAMES  LOW,  one  of  my  cousins  in  the  army,  died 
at  Gallatin,  Tenn.,  in  the  spring  of  1863.  Shortly 
after,  Uncle  Low  learned  that  another  son,  Johnson 
Low,  had  fallen  sick  and  had  been  taken  to  a  hospital  in 
Memphis.  As  my  uncle  was  then  suffering  from  heart 
disease,  from  which  he  died  a  few  months  later,  I  was 
asked  to  go  down  to  Memphis  to  find  the  boy,  get  his 
discharge,  if  possible,  and  bring  him  home  if  he  was 
able  to  come. 

Transportation  then  was  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railway 
to  Cairo,  thence  by  boat  to  Memphis.  On  the  way  to 
Cairo  battles  and  war  measures  were  freely  discussed  by 
the  passengers.  One  of  them  near  me  having  made  a 
statement  which  I  knew  was  incorrect,  regarding  the  ac- 
tion of  the  administration  at  Washington  on  the  Mason 
and  Slidell  affair,  I  contradicted  him.  He  was  indig- 
nant and  positive  and  so  was  I.  The  argument  was  be- 
coming rather  hot  when  a  gentleman,  who  was  sitting 
in  front  of  us  and  had  taken  no  part  in  any  of  the  dis- 
cussions, turned  toward  us  and  said,  addressing  me: 
"Young  man,  you  are  right.  I  was  there  and  I  know." 
This  ended  the  discussion,  as  I  remember.  ,. 

He  was  a  broad-shouldered,  fine  looking  man  of  about 
forty  years.  As  his  countenance  was  inviting  I  took 

118 


Recollections  1837—1910  119 

the  liberty  soon  after  to  thank  him  for  helping  me  out 
in  the  argument.  He  volunteered  some  information  re- 
garding the  point  at  issue,  then  he  asked  me  where  I  was 
going.  I  told  him  where  and  what  for.  He  said  he 
was  going  to  Memphis,  also,  for  a  sick  son  who  was  in 
some  hospital  there.  The  similarity  of  our  purposes  led 
to  further  conversation.  Finally  he  suggested  that  we 
keep  together,  which  we  did  for  the  several  days  we  were 
on  the  road,  and  in  Memphis,  until  he  found  his  son  and 
started  homeward  with  him. 

He  was  John  F.  Potter,  member  of  Congress  from 
Wisconsin,  known  then  throughout  the  country  as  "Bowie- 
Knife"  Potter.  He  died  three  or  four  years  ago.  Quite 
unlike  the  cartoons  of  him  in  1860  and  later,  which  gen- 
erally represented  him  as  a  big  raw-boned,  hairy-faced 
lumberman,  he  was  a  handsome  man,  smooth-shaven,  of 
medium  size  but  of  rather  stout  build,  and  a  gentleman 
in  every  sense  of  the  word.  As  he  found  in  me  an  earnest 
listener  he  talked  freely  about  national  affairs,  and  his 
own.  Of  course  I  asked  him  about  the  fracas  in  Congress 
in  which  he  had  participated  and  his  affair  that  followed 
with  Roger  A.  Pryor.  The  following  was  his  version : 

Little  attention  was  given  to  anything  but  slavery  in 
the  Congress  of  1860.  The  discussions  were  bitter,  often 
sharply  personal.  The  southern  members,  generally,  man- 
ifested more  arrogance  than  usual,  and  several  were  ou* 
spoken  in  their  contempt  for  the  honor  and  courage  01 
the  north.  Such  aspersions,  he  said,  had  enraged  him 
and  he  wondered  that  northern  members,  who  had  been 
directly  assailed  or  insulted,  could  have  shown  so  little 
resentment. 

Finally  one  day  Galusha  A.  Grow,  a  member   from 


120  Recollections  1837—1910 

Pennsylvania,  a  man  rather  weak  in  body  but  strong  in 
language,  in  one  of  his  impassioned  speeches  on  the  ever 
burning  question,  walked  down  the  aisle  and  faced  the 
Democratic  side  of  the  House.  Some  one  on  that  side 
told  him  to  address  the  speaker.  Then  Keitt,  of  South 
Carolina,  ordered  him  to  return  to  his  seat;  but  he  con- 
tinued and  the  fiery  southerner  sprang  out  with  intent 
to  force  him  back.  At  this  Potter  and  others  from  each 
side  rushed  into  the  aisle  and  a  disgraceful  scrimmage 
was  the  result.  Mr.  Potter  said  he  hardly  knew  what 
happened  next,  further  than  that  he  was  pushing  and 
hitting  in  his  endeavor  to  reach  Grow.  In  the  melee  he 
hit  Barksdale,  of  Mississippi,  on  the  head  and  in  with- 
drawing his  hand  Barksdale's  wig  came  with  it.  At  the 
instant  his  thought  was  that  he  had  knocked  off  the  top 
of  the  man's  head,  and  the  sensation  for  a  moment  was 
horrible;  but  when  he  saw  what  it  was,  the  whole  affair 
seemed  so  ridiculous  that  he  gave  the  wig  a  fling  into 
the  crowd,  laughed  to  himself  and  backed  out,  the  scrim- 
mage being  about  through,  with  nobody  much  hurt. 

Pryor  was  not  in  the  row,  as  I  remember  the  story; 
but  next  day,  in  discussing  the  fracas,  Potter  and  he 
exchanged  some  hot  words  which  resulted  in  a  challenge 
from  Pryor.  Potter  accepted  it  and  having,  as  the  chal- 
lenged party,  the  right  to  name  the  weapons,  he  chose  the 
bowie  knife,  inasmuch  as  he  was  not  skilled  in  the  use 
of  pistols  or  sword  and  the  bowie  was  a  southern  weapon. 
It  was  reported  that  he  also  stipulated  that  the  duel 
should  take  place  in  a  dark  room ;  but  if  my  memory  is 
correct  he  denied  this.  As  Pryor  was  a  small  man,  his 
friends  contended  that  he  would  be  at  too  much  disad- 
vantage; so  they  prevailed  on  him  not  to  accept  the 


Recollections  1837—1910  121 

terms  and  the  matter  rested.  Mr.  Potter  said  he  expected 
to  be  attacked  on  the  street  and  went  prepared  therefor, 
for  several  days. 

The  northern  newspapers  made  the  most  of  the  affair, 
or  course,  publishing  a  lot  of  sensational  stuff  about  it, 
generally  in  praise  of  Mr.  Potter's  action ;  in  consequence 
he  became  for  a  time  the  hero  of  the  north.  Some  of 
his  eastern  admirers  had  an  immense  bowie  knife  made 
for  him,  which  they  presented,  with  a  glowing  eulogy. 
Several  years  later  I  visited  Mr.  Potter  at  his  home  on 
Potter's  lake,  a  few  miles  from  the  old  town  of  East 
Troy,  Wis.  The  great  bowie,  five  or  six  feet  long,  elab- 
orately finished,  was  then  standing  on  the  veranda  of  the 
old  tavern.  I  mentioned  it  to  him  and  he  said  he  had 
given  it  to  the  town  because  he  did  not  want  the  ugly 
thing  about  the  house. 

In  the  spring  of  1863  the  western  army  under  Grant 
was  drawing  in  towards  Vicksburg.  Memphis  was  the 
headquarters  for  the  receipt  and  distribution  of  supplies, 
and  it  was  also  the  great  center  of  hospitals.  The  city 
was  a  huge  exposition  of  the  waste  of  war  in  lives  and 
property  and  of  its  generally  demoralizing  consequences. 
Rows  of  residences  along  the  river  bank  had  been  re- 
moved or  destroyed,  evidently  for  the  purpose  of  having 
open  ground  in  case  of  attack.  The  city  was  dirty,  rag- 
ged and  neglected.  Its  government  was  subservient  to 
the  army  and  was  unable  or  unwilling  to  keep  public 
utilities  in  repair.  The  citizens  in  general  had  given  up, 
withdrawn  into  their  homes  or  gone  away;  for  few  were 
seen  on  the  streets,  which,  apparently,  were  given  over 
to  negroes  and  mules,  and  soldiers  and  prostitutes.  But 


122  Recollections  1837—1910 

saddest  of  all  were  the  many  great  hospitals  filled  with 
the  wounded,  the  sick  and  the  dying. 

The  finding  of  my  cousin  was  a  difficult  undertaking. 
I  only  knew  that  he  was  in  a  hospital  in  Memphis  and  I 
had  to  inquire  from  one  to  another.  The  stewards,  pes- 
tered by  so  many  such  inquiries,  were  irritable  and  slow 
in  giving  answer  or  information.  The  one  in  charge  of 
the  hospital  where  I  found  my  cousin's  name  entered 
was  half  drunk.  I  had  to  wait  some  time  for  the  doctor, 
who  was  out,  for  permission  to  see  the  boy.  When  the 
doctor  came  I  saw  that  he,  too,  was  full  of  whiskey ; 
but  he  was  good  natured  and  went  with  me.  The  boy 
was  glad  enough  to  see  me.  He  was  anxious  to  go  home, 
to  get  out  from  among  the  sick  and  dying.  The  doctor 
said  that  he  would  not  be  able  to  stand  the  journey,  but 
the  boy  insisted  that  he  could.  The  doctor  then  advised 
me  to  see  Dr.  Allen,  or  rather  Col.  Allen  as  he  ranked, 
chief  of  the  department  of  hospitals,  etc.,  and  possibly 
I  might  induce  him  to  see  and  discharge  the  boy,  who 
was  in  the  first  stage  of  consumption  he  thought.  It 
was  not  an  easy  matter  to  get  an  interview  with  Col. 
Allen;  but  I  found  a  friend  in  his  secretary  who  put 
the  case  so  well  before  the  Colonel  that  he  sent  out  for 
me  and  within  fifteen  minutes  we  were  in  his  carriage 
and  on  the  way  to  the  hospital.  He  examined  my  cousin 
and  gave  orders  for  his  discharge.  When  leaving  the 
ward  I  passed  with  the  doctor  into  a  small  room  adjoin- 
ing, the  room  into  which  patients  were  carried  when 
death  was  near.  On  a  cot  lay  a  dying  soldier,  a  young 
man  of  large  frame  and  good  features,  but  so  wasted  that 
he  was  but  skin  and  bone,  apparently.  He  was  dictating 
to  an  attendant  his  last  letter  to  his  wife.  He  would  say 


Recollections  1837—1910  123 

a  few  words,  then  pause  for  breath  and  try  again.  Two 
big  tears  had  rolled  from  his  eyes  into  the  hollows  be- 
low and  lay  there  alone  as  if  they  had  exhausted  the 
fountain. 

My  cousin  and  I  started  for  home  two  or  three  days 
later.  He  bore  the  journey  well.  He  never  fully  re- 
gained his  health,  but  died  within  a  few  years  as  a  result 
of  his  experience  in  the  army. 

In  the  summer  of  1860  a  slender,  sickly-looking  young 
fellow  came  to  the  house  and  asked  if  we  needed  help, 
saying  that  he  had  broken  down  in  school  and  was  tramp- 
ing for  his  health,  but  now  would  like  to  do  light  work 
for  a  while  and  would  leave  the  question  of  wages  to  us, 
to  be  settled  when  we  could  know  what  his  work  might 
be  worth.  His  appearance  was  in  his  favor  and  we  took 
him  in.  His  name  was  Rodman  Cook,  a  brother  of  lawyer 
Homer  Cook,  of  Waukegan,  partner  of  the  late  Judge 
Upton  before  the  latter  was  elected  to  the  bench.  He  was 
bright  and  interesting,  quite  well  educated  and  greedy 
for  information.  He  remained  with  us  a  couple  of 
months,  when  we  settled  with  him  to  his  satisfaction  and 
he  left  for  home,  we  supposed.  We  heard  nothing  from 
him  afterwards. 

One  day  while  in  Memphis  I  met  on  the  street  a 
strapping  young  officer,  of  unusually  neat  and  soldierly 
appearance,  who,  after  passing,  turned  and  called  my 
name.  It  was  Rodman  Cook.  We  went  to  the  hotel 
together  and  he  told  me  his  story.  As  I  remember  it, 
he  had  gone  into  the  army  in  the  spring  of  1861,  not  as 
a  soldier  but  in  some  clerical  capacity.  He  was  at  the 
siege  of  Island  No.  10,  and  when  that  place  was  taken 
he  went  on  down  the  river  to  Memphis  with  the  fleet 


124  Recollections  1837—1910 

of  Commodore  Davis.  There  he  got  in  with  some  fellows 
who  were  running  boats  up  the  rivers  and  bayous  for 
cotton.  This  was  very  dangerous  work;  but  it  paid  ex- 
tremely well,  as  cotton  was  so  scarce  and  dear  during  the 
war  that  a  boatload  was  a  little  fortune;  and  there  was 
no  lack  of  reckless  fellows  who  would  take  the  risk  for 
the  money  that  was  in  it.  The  Confederates  carefully 
guarded  their  cotton,  as  it  was  their  most  valuable  asset, 
and  they  had  no  mercy  for  the  cotton  hunters  or  cotton 
raiders  if  the  latter  were  trapped  or  taken  in  any  fight. 
Young  Cook  had  been  on  several  of  these  excursions  with 
very  successful  results,  had  made  quite  a  lot  of  money 
and  had  worked  his  way  up  until  at  that  time  he  was 
in  command  of  a  swift  little  cotton  steamer,  well  armed. 
He  was  then  about  to  start  on  one  of  his  expeditions. 
We  parted  with  best  wishes  for  each  other's  success.  Not 
long  after  my  return  home,  there  was  among  the  war 
items  in  the  newspaper  one  from  Memphis  stating  that 
Captain  Rodman  Cook  had  been  shot  from  ambush  and 
killed  while  standing  on  the  deck  of  his  cotton  boat.  He 
was  one  of  the  many  who  never  returned. 

In  the  summer  of  1863,  as  I  recollect,  something  in 
which  the  town  was  deeply  interested,  I  have  forgotten 
what  it  was,  required  the  advice  or  sanction  of  Governor 
Yates.  He  was  stopping  at  the  Sherman  House  in  Chi- 
cago at  the  time,  and  I  was  deputed  to  lay  the  matter 
before  him.  There  was  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  an  audi- 
ence with  him.  He  received  me  in  his  room,  Mrs.  Yates 
being  present  and  remaining  through  the  interview.  I 
stated  my  case,  and  as  it  was  one  that  required  some 
consideration,  inquiries  on  his  part  and  explanations  on 
mine,  the  interview  was  long  enough  to  give  me  lasting 


Recollections  1837—1910  125 

impressions  of  the  man.  I  liked  him  at  once,  because 
of  his  kindly,  courteous  manner  when  receiving  me.  I 
was  but  a  young  farmer  and  expected  to  be  treated  coolly 
or  indifferently;  but  his  cordiality  put  me  at  ease,  re- 
lieved me  of  all  embarrassment  and  gave  me  confidence 
while  presenting  my  case.  He  paid  not  merely  respectful 
but  interested  attention  to  my  statements,  disclosing  a 
natural  willingness  to  please  or  to  favor.  His  action  re- 
garding the  matter  under  consideration  was  satisfactory. 
When  I  left  him  I  was,  as  one  writes,  his  "grateful  and 
obedient  servant"  politically,  and  I  always  so  remained. 
Our  great  war  governor  was  in  person  and  manner  a 
very  attractive  gentleman. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

BEGINNING  OF  HARVESTER  MANUFACTURE  AT  PLANO FU- 
TILE    EFFORTS     TO     INTEREST     MANUFACTURERS — THE 

COLDEST   DAY   AND   WORST    STORM ASSASSINATION    OF 

PRESIDENT   LINCOLN — RETURN   OF  THE  SOLDIERS — AG- 
RICULTURE   FLOURISHING — IMPROVED    MACHINERY. 

IN  the  fall  of  1863  I  moved  to  Piano,  and  in  connection 
with  George  Steward,  backed  by  Lewis  Steward,  we 
began  the  manufacture  of  Marsh  harvesters  in  the 
little  shop  attached  to  the  grain  elevator  of  Steward  & 
Henning.  We  got  out  twenty-five  machines  for  the  har- 
vest of  1864,  which  we  marketed  successfully. 

During  the  two  or  three  preceding  seasons  we  had  tried 
hard  to  interest  manufacturers  of  reapers  and  of  other 
farm  machinery,  and  capitalists  also,  by  showing  them 
the  work  of  our  harvester  in  various  fields  and  by  par- 
ticipating in  the  reaper  trial  held  at  DeKalb  in  the  har- 
vest of  1863  where  we  won  first  prize,  my  brother  bind- 
ing an  acre  of  heavy  grain  in  fifty-two  minutes,  doing 
excellent  work;  but,  though  its  performance  was  emi- 
nently satisfactory  in  every  instance,  we  could  not  induce 
them  to  undertake  its  manufacture.  Apparently  it  was 
such  an  innovation  in  form  and  operation,  and  our  work 
on  it  so  much  beyond  what  they  believed  to  be  the  ca- 
pacity of  ordinary  binders,  that  they  feared  to  take  hold 
of  it. 

Our  effort  at  Piano  convinced  us  that  we  had  not  the 

126 


Recollections  1837—1910  127 

necessary  experience,  means  and  command  of  mechanical 
ability  to  successfully  manufacture  the  machine  and  estab- 
lish it  on  the  market.  It  induced  us  to  accept  the  offer 
of  Champlin  &  Taylor,  of  Sycamore,  for  a  third  interest 
in  our  patents,  and  to  consent  to  grant  a  license  to  Easter 
&  Gammon,  of  Chicago,  for  six  of  the  then  best  states. 
They  obtained  such  license  on  their  representations  that 
they  were  fully  competent  to  develop  the  machine  in  the 
shop  and  on  the  market. 

I  think  now  that  the  granting  of  this  license  was  our 
first  great  mistake  (the  weakness  of  our  patents  being 
more  a  misfortune  than  a  mistake  and  then  subject  to 
full  correction,  as  permitted  by  the  law,  by  the  rules  of 
the  patent  office  and  by  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme 
Court)  ;  for,  as  it  turned  out,  Easter  &  Gammon  had 
worse  luck  in  their  first  efforts  at  getting  a  thoroughly 
well  made  and  well  formed  machine  upon  the  market 
than  we  had  at  Piano,  which  forced  us  to  continue  our 
work  there,  with  a  limited  territory,  in  order  to  keep  up 
the  reputation  of  the  machine.  In  the  fall  of  1864  I 
returned  to  the  farm,  and  not  long  after  my  brother  took 
my  place  at  Piano. 

January  1,  1864,  was  the  most  terrible  day  of  all  in  the 
sixty-one  winters  I  have  seen  in  this  country.  The  storm 
began  in  the  night  before  with  heavy  snow  and  strong 
southwest  wind.  In  the  "morning  the  wind,  increasing, 
veered  to  the  west  and  later  to  the  northwest  and  the 
cold  rapidly  increased,  thermometers  during  the  day  and 
evening  registering  from  thirty  to  thirty-five  degrees  be- 
low zero.  It  was  almost  impossible  to  make  headway 
against  the  blinding  snow  and  arctic  wind.  The  snow 
was  piled  in  huge  drifts,  rendering  highways  and  rail- 


128  Recollections  1837—1910 

ways  almost  or  quite  impassable  for  several  days.  Much 
stock  in  transit  perished  and  in  several  instances  pas- 
sengers were  held  many  hours  in  the  drift-blocked  cars. 
As  cattle  on  the  farms  were  then  seldom  housed,  but  left 
to  care  for  themselves  about  the  straw  stacks  and  under 
the  sheds,  they  suffered  terribly;  some  were  frozen  to 
death  and  many  droves,  maddened  by  their  sufferings, 
stampeded  down  the  wind,  seeking  shelter  in  groves  or 
ravines  to  be  gathered  in  or  digged  out  as  found  after 
the  storm  subsided.  Quite  a  number  of  cattle  were  buried 
under  the  snow  that  drifted  over  the  straw  stacks  against 
which  they  were  trying  to  find  shelter  or  under  stacks 
that  were  blown  over  by  the  blast,  and  some  were  taken 
out  alive  after  being  thus  buried  for  many  days,  as 
happened  to  two  steers  on  our  farm.  It  was  estimated 
that  half  the  fowls  in  our  country  were  frozen  in  their 
shelters  or  blown  away. 

The  spring  of  1865  opened  early  and  pleasant.  War 
news  indicated  that  the  Confederates  were  becoming  ex- 
hausted, that  they  would  soon  have  to  give  up  the  strug- 
gle, and  that  the  long  and  bloody  contest  was  nearing 
its  close.  Early  in  April  we  learned  that  the  "On  to 
Richmond"  cry,  which  had  caused  the  shedding  of  so 
much  blood,  had  at  last  been  answered  and  the  city  was 
in  the  possession  of  our  army.  Almost  immediately  fol- 
lowing came  the  news  of  Lee's  surrender.  It  was  glad 
news  to  us  all  and  great  was  the  rejoicing. 

One  morning  a  few  days  later,  we  loaded  up  our  farm 
wagon  with  ourselves  and  men  and  started  for  the  little 
old  town  of  Shabbona  Grove,  three  miles  away,  to  hear 
the  latest  news  and  to  join  in  the  general  congratula- 
tions. We  were  a  hilarious  party.  As  we  descended  the 


Recollections  1837—1910  129 

bluff  and  looked  across  the  valley  of  Indian  creek  upon 
the  little  town  on  the  other  side,  we  saw  that  the  flag 
was  at  half-mast.  It  gave  us  a  chill.  "What  can  have 
happened  ?  What  can  have  happened  ?"  we  repeated.  Be- 
fore the  store  and  postoffice  as  we  drove  up  was  an  ex- 
cited crowd.  To  the  question,  "What  is  the  matter?"  we 
were  answered,  "The  south  has  risen  again,  Lincoln  and 
his  cabinet  are  murdered,  and  Washington  is  taken." 
"Not  quite  so  bad  as  that,"  called  out  another,  "Washing- 
ton is  not  taken,  but  Lincoln  and  Seward  are  killed,  that's 
sure." 

Never  during  all  the  war  with  its  worst  returns  of 
killed  and  wounded  were  more  bitter  curses  heaped  upon 
the  south  than  by  that  little  crowd.  The  change  from 
joy  to  bitter  grief  and  disappointment  fairly  crazed  the 
people.  They  wept  and  swore  together  and  I  think  every 
man  there,  able  to  go,  would  have  enlisted  at  once  if 
called  upon  then.  A  little  later  a  rider  came  in  from 
Leland  and  gave  us  more  assuring  news.  Washington 
had  not  been  attacked,  Seward  was  yet  alive,  but  Lincoln 
was  dead.  However  we  still  supposed  that  this  out- 
break was  the  result  of  a  conspiracy  in  the  south  to  mur- 
der our  leaders  and  to  renew  the  war,  and  we  expected 
to  hear  next  that  the  rebels  were  rushing  toward  Wash- 
ington. In  short,  we  were  so  excited  that  we  were 
ready  to  believe  anything  before  the  papers  came  con- 
taining full  accounts  of  the  affair,  which  by  the  way 
were  sufficiently  sensational. 

The  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  was  a  great 
disaster  to  the  nation,  and  it  was  a  doubly  sad  blow  to 
the  unfortunate  south ;  for,  although  we  soon  learned  that 
the  crime  was  but  the  frenzied  deed  of  a  half-mad  actor, 

10 


130  Recollections  1837—1910 

in  no  way  instigated  by  the  southern  people  or  their 
leaders,  it  reached  the  hearts  of  the  entire  north  and 
hardened  them  at  a  time  when  they  were  being  softened 
by  the  return  of  peace  and  by  the  losses  and  misfortunes 
of  the  south,  and  it  struck  down  the  man  best  fitted  and 
most  disposed  to  lead  this  sentiment  toward  gentle  and 
magnanimous  measures.  Had  Lincoln  lived  the  policy 
of  reconstruction  would  have  been  milder,  less  offensive 
and  less  humiliating  to  the  southern  people. 

During  the  winter  of  1865,  when  it  became  evident  that 
the  war  was  nearly  over,  we  often  wondered  what  might 
be  the  consequences  when  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
soldiers  would  be  disbanded  and  sent  home.  For  years 
the  majority  of  them  had  been  withdrawn  from  peace- 
ful occupations  and  engaged  in  the  destructive  opera- 
tions of  war,  from  the  quietude  of  home  to  the  rough 
and  stirring  activity  of  camp  and  field.  They  had  been 
familiarized  with  the  taking  of  life,  with  suffering  in 
every  form  and  with  the  forceful  appropriation  of  prop- 
erty not  their  own. 

Such  experience,  we  thought,  must  necessarily  have 
been  more  or  less  hardening  or  demoralizing  upon  all, 
and  upon  the  many  with  tendencies  toward  evil  it  must 
have  developed  inclination  to  lawlessness  and  crime.  How 
will  all  these  men,  poured  upon  the  country  at  once, 
find  employment?  Will  not  many  be  disinclined  to  work 
and  will  not  a  considerable  number  resort  to  robbery  or 
other  crimes?  Thus  we  wondered  and  queried,  having 
in  mind  what  has  happened  in  other  countries  after  long 
wars.  But  to  the  honor  of  our  army  boys,  and  especially 
those  of  the  west,  it  can  be  said  that  as  they  returned 
they  quietly  melted,  as  it  seemed,  into  their  respective 


Recollections  1837—1910  131 

communities  with  very  little  disturbance  to  moral  or  in- 
dustrial conditions. 

During  and  after  the  second  year  of  the  war,  the  issue 
of  greenbacks  and  of  national  bank  bills  later,  furnished 
plenty  of  currency,  all  of  the  same  value;  and  as  crops 
were  good  and  prices  of  all  products  high  and  rising,  busi- 
ness became  very  active  and  prosperity  general  in  this 
part  of  the  country.  The  conditions  particularly  favored 
the  farmers,  because  the  debts  contracted  during  the  bad 
previous  years  could  now  be  paid  with  the  cheap  money 
received  for  their  dear  products. 

War  requirements  in  addition  to  foreign  demand  greatly 
stimulated  production  with  the  result  that  the  area  under 
cultivation  was  rapidly  increased ;  and  so  was  the  demand 
for  improved  farm  machinery,  not  only  in  consequence 
of  the  larger  acreage  but  because  scarcity  of  help  re- 
quired more  and  better  implements.  Drills,  seeders,  corn 
planters,  double  cultivators,  mowers,  horse  rakes,  self- 
raking  reapers,  etc.,  in  large  variety  and  of  good  con- 
struction came  into  common  use.  Sewing  machines  were 
in  nearly  every  farmer's  house,  organs  had  displaced 
melodeons  and  occasionally  a  piano  found  place  there. 

Before  the  war  very  little  attention  had  been  given 
by  prairie  farmers  to  the  production  of  tame  hay;  but 
the  requirements  of  the  army  for  that  product  resulted 
in  the  general  seeding  of  meadows  and  an  increased  de- 
mand for  mowers,  rakes  and  hay  tools  in  consequence. 
Just  as  the  war  closed  the  value  of  paper  money,  as 
measured  by  gold,  suddenly  advanced  and  prices  of  all 
commodities  fell  accordingly,  but  financiers  soon  took 
into  consideration  the  enormous  debt  of  the  country  and 
our  currency  went  back  to  former  value.  These  fluctu- 


132  Recollections  1837—1910 

ations  in  the  value  of  money  occurred  in  so  short  a 
time  that  the  prosperous  conditions  were  not  much  dis- 
turbed thereby. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

EXPERTING  HARVESTERS — HOW  GIRL  BEAT  BULLY  BINDER — 
SHARP  WORK  AT  OSSIAN LONG  JOURNEY  WITH  HAR- 
VESTER— OLD  STYLE  TOOTH  PULLING IN  THE  LEGIS- 
LATURE— WONDERFUL  ECLIPSE  OF  THE  SUN  IN  1869. 

WE  were  introducing  our  machine  at  that  time. 
To  give  an  idea  of  what  harvester  experting  was 
I  will  relate  a  bit  of  my  experience  which  may 
be  interesting:    For  the  harvest  of  1865  we  had  shipped 
from  Piano  on  orders  taken  by  an  agency  at  McGregor, 
la.,  two  machines  to  be  delivered  at  Ossian,  about  forty 
miles  westward  from  McGregor  and  as  far  out  as  the  rail- 
way had  reached.     Easter  &  Gammon  had  also  shipped 
one  of  their  Marsh  harvesters,  made  at  Beloit,  for  a 
farmer  who  lived  a  few  miles  west  of  McGregor. 

I  went  out  there  to  set  up,  start  and  generally  look 
after  the  three  machines.  It  was  a  wet  harvest.  The 
agent  drove  out  to  the  farm  with  me  and  helped  in  set- 
ting up  the  Beloit  harvester,  which  we  started  in  grain 
and  got  ready  for  further  trial  next  morning.  I  staid 
over  night  with  the  farmer,  a  German,  and  made  myself 
as  agreeable  as  I  could  to  the  family,  which  consisted  of 
wife,  grown  daughter  and  several  young  children.  It 
rained  heavily  during  the  night  and  put  the  grain  in 
bad  shape  for  harvesting.  I  wanted  to  hold  over  a  day 
to  give  the  grain,  ground  and  machine  a  chance  to  dry; 
but  the  farmer  would  not  hear  to  that,  as  he  had  invited 
his  neighbors  to  see  the  new  machine  work.  The  best  I 
could  do  was  to  get  him  to  wait  until  after  dinner. 

133 


134  Recollections  1837—1910 

Many  farmers  had  collected  by  the  time  we  were  ready 
to  start  the  harvester.  I  remember  that  it  was  very  hot 
and  some  one  had  brought  in  a  keg  of  beer.  Considering 
the  conditions  I  did  very  well.  I  bound  with  some  one 
or  other  of  the  "crack"  binders  in  attendance,  and  then 
alone.  The  "bully"  binder  of  the  community  had  not 
tried  his  hand  yet,  and  a  call  was  made  for  him.  It  was 
apparent,  as  he  came  up,  that  he  had  been  giving  con- 
siderable attention  to  the  keg.  He  refused  to  bind  with 
me,  but  said  he  would  try  it  alone,  for,  if  I  could  do  it 
he  could,  as  no  man  could  beat  him  binding.  I  told 
him  to  get  on. 

He  was  a  big,  muscular  fellow,  and  a  little  unsteady 
from  liquor.  He  had  about  all  he  could  do  to  keep  his 
place  on  the  platform,  as  the  machine  moved  along,  so 
he  couldn't  give  much  attention  to  his  binding.  He  was 
stalled  and  had  called  a  halt  before  the  machine  had 
gone  three  rods.  He  tried  it  again  with  about  the  same 
result;  then  he  jumped  off  and  swore  he  could  lick  me, 
if  he  couldn't  beat  me  binding.  Apparently  the  crowd 
was  disposed  to  encourage  a  fight;  but  the  farmer's 
daughter,  who  had  been  following  the  harvester  with 
others,  drew  their  attention  by  asking  if  she  might  try 
to  bind.  I  placed  her  at  the  rear  table  and  so  favored 
her  that  she  got  the  knack  of  it  very  soon;  then,  at  a 
place  where  grain  stood  nicely,  I  told  the  driver  to  go 
slow  and  I  stepped  off.  She  bound  the  grain  alone  for 
several  rods  and  until  I  stopped  the  machine  for  the 
shouting  crowd. 

The  "bully"  binder  was  really  hooted  off  the  field.  But 
alas !  my  triumph  was  short,  for  in  crossing  a  rut,  made 
by  the  recent  rains,  a  little  more  carelessly  than  usual,  one 


Recollections  1837—1910  135 

of  the  main  castings  broke  and  the  machine  was  rendered 
useless  until  the  repair  could  be  forwarded. 

Leaving  the  crippled  machine  to  be  cared  for  by  the 
agent  I  went  on  to  Ossian  to  look  after  the  two  shipped 
from  Piano.  I  found  them  unloaded  upon  the  ground 
beside  the  track,  as  were  piles  of  reapers  and  other  ma- 
chinery to  be  sold  or  distributed  to  farmers  westward. 
Everything  was  exposed  to  the  frequent  rains  of  the 
season,  as  there  was  no  freight  depot  or  warehouse.  The 
rough  tavern  was  full  of  agents  and  experts  and  of  farm- 
ers coming  in  for  machinery.  It  was  a  noisy,  bantering 
crowd.  My  machines  had  been  shipped  partly  set  up, 
as  were  all  the  old  Piano  "blues,"  and  I  immediately  went 
to  work  on  one  to  put  it  in  shape  for  action.  Its  strange 
appearance  attracted  the  attention  of  all.  Generally  they 
were  disposed  to  look  upon  it  as  a  freak  and  we,  the  har- 
vester and  I,  were  the  butt  of  many  good  natured  jokes 
and  some  contemptuous  comments. 

There  was  a  small  field  of  wheat  a  few  rods  from  the 
railway;  it  stood  well  and  was  about  ready  to  be  cut. 
I  went  to  the  farmer's  house  and  prevailed  on  him  to 
come  with  his  team  next  morning  and  help  me  do  some 
harvesting  for  him,  on  condition  that  I  pay  for  whatever 
damage  I  might  do.  Freight  not  having  been  paid,  I 
got  permission  of  the  freight  agent  to  move  the  machine 
into  the  field,  which  he  gave  more  from  curiosity  to  see 
the  thing  work  than  from  kindness,  I  thought. 

The  farmer  was  on  hand  right  after  breakfast,  and  so 
were  the  "boys."  As  he  was  hitching  on  I  discovered 
that  some  one  had  pried  open  the  tool  box  and  stolen 
the  elevator  belt  and  monkey  wrench.  I  supplied  these 
from  the  other  harvester;  then  we  drove  in,  followed  by 


136  Recollections  1837—1910 

the  laughing,  jeering  crowd.  The  farmer  had  a  good 
team,  he  drove  well  and  I  was  on  my  mettle.  He  went 
around  the  field  several  times,  and  we  did  better  work 
than  any  of  those  fellows  had  ever  before  seen  done  in 
a  harvest  field.  One  man  binding  as  much  grain  as  four 
did  ordinarily  was  rather  a  surprise  for  them;  so  they 
poked  no  more  fun  at  us,  the  harvester  and  me. 

Fortunately  the  farmer  who  had  given  his  order  for 
the  machine  had  come  in  the  night  before  and  without 
making  himself  known  to  me  had  witnessed  the  trial. 
He  was  ready  to  pay  the  freight  and  to  start  at  once  for 
his  place,  seventy  miles  farther  west.  Only  taking  time 
to  settle  with  the  landlord,  pay  freight  and  telegraph  for 
duplicates  of  the  parts  stolen,  we  loaded  the  machine  just 
as  it  was  on  the  wagon,  lengthwise  with  binding  part  for- 
ward, and  started  on  our  long  journey. 

At  that  time  northern  Iowa  was  sparsely  settled.  Be- 
tween the  groves  or  streams  there  were  wide  stretches 
of  naked  prairie,  as  in  this  section  ten  years  earlier.  The 
roads  were  simply  tracks  across  the  prairie,  then  muddy 
and  much  rutted  by  the  prevailing  rains.  With  our  pe- 
culiar load  the  mules  could  not  be  urged  beyond  a  walk. 
The  farmer  was  a  frank,  active  young  fellow,  ambitious 
and  hopeful.  He  had  served  as  a  militiaman  under  Gen. 
Sibley  during  the  latter's  campaign  against  the  Indians, 
who  were  guilty  of  the  horrible  massacres  committed 
in  Minnesota  and  Dakota  in  1862.  He  had  saved  some 
money,  taken  up  a  quarter  section  of  land,  married  and 
was  doing  first  rate,  he  said. 

He  had  brought  his  gun  along  and  young  prairie  chick- 
ens were  plentiful;  so,  with  the  watching  for  birds  and 
occasional  shooting,  and  his  many  tales  of  his  adven- 


Recollections  1837—1910  137 

tures  in  the  west  and  during  the  pursuit  of  the  Indians, 
the  tedium  of  the  journey  was  considerably  relieved.  He 
had  provided  food  for  the  trip;  so  we  lunched  by  the 
roadside,  and  when  night  came  we  drew  out  and  halted 
under  a  big  oak  tree  near  a  beautiful  spring.  He  tethered 
his  mules;  then  he  built  a  fire,  made  coffee  and  broiled 
a  couple  of  chickens,  which  with  the  other  provisions 
made  an  excellent  supper.  Soon  after  we  rolled  ourselves 
in  the  blankets  and  slept  comfortably  upon  the  ground 
until  early  morning.  Breakfast  was  ready  by  the  time 
I  was,  and  we  were  soon  on  the  road  again.  We  reached 
his  place  a  little  before  night. 

He  had  a  beautiful  piece  of  land,  with  a  comfortable 
little  house  on  it,  near  a  strip  of  timber  that  bordered  a 
small,  swift  stream.  His  young  and  quite  pretty  wife 
had  been  alone  while  he  was  making  the  trip.  She  said 
he  had  to  be  away  over  night  often,  but  she  was  not 
afraid,  pointing  to  an  army  revolver  hanging  to  the  wall 
and  to  a  big  dog  that  was  watching  her  as  she  talked. 
The  trial  next  day  was  satisfactory;  the  wife  drove  the 
team  and  I  instructed  him  in  binding,  which  he  was 
not  slow  in  learning.  He  paid  me  the  price  of  the  ma- 
chine and  early  the  following  morning  I  started  out  on 
foot  on  my  return. 

Unless  I  could  catch  a  ride  on  the  way  I  would  have  to 
walk  about  twenty  miles  to  reach  a  little  town,  where  con- 
veyance to  Ossian  could  probably  be  obtained.  I  was 
anxious  to  get  back  and  walked  forward  briskly  and 
cheerily.  I  got  dinner  at  a  farm  house;  then  resumed 
my  journey,  with  several  miles  yet  to  make  across  an 
unbroken  prairie.  When  about  half  way  it  began  to  rain 
and  it  kept  on  raining.  There  was  no  shelter  and  no  team 


138  Recollections  1837—1910 

going  in  my  direction,  so  I  could  but  trudge  onward 
through  the  mud  and  rain.  When  the  town  was  reached, 
though  soaking  wet  and  pretty  well  used  up,  I  sought  at 
once  and  soon  engaged  a  conveyance  for  Ossian,  to  start 
early  next  morning.  The  wetting  and  exposure  gave  me 
a  severe  cold  and  I  awoke  in  the  morning  with  a  raging 
toothache.  We  got  to  Ossian  late  in  the  evening.  My 
valise  having  been  left  there  I  had  at  last  a  chance  to 
clean  up  and  change  clothing. 

The  man  who  ordered  the  other  harvester  had  come 
in  meantime  and  taken  it  out  to  his  farm  near  Decorah. 
The  extras  had  arrived.  I  hired  the  farmer  in  whose 
wheat  field  the  machine  had  been  tried,  to  drive  over  with 
me.  I  was  sick  and  still  suffering  terribly  with  toothache ; 
but  fortunately  for  me  everything  went  off  well,  the  ma- 
chine on  trial  satisfied  the  farmer  and  that  evening  he 
took  me  into  Decorah.  By  this  time  the  sick  tooth  had 
become  unbearable.  Sleep  was  impossible,  so  about  mid- 
night I  dressed  myself  and  went  out  to  walk  the  street. 

Passing  a  doctor's  sign  before  a  residence  I  determined 
at  once  to  have  the  thing  pulled.  I  rang  up  the  doctor. 
He  proved  to  be  a  practitioner  of  the  old  school,  for  he 
brought  out  a  turnkey  instead  of  forceps.  The  terrible 
machine  had  been  in  my  mouth  once  before  and  I  ob- 
jected, but  that  was  all  he  had.  Few  now  living  know 
what  it  is  to  have  a  solid  tooth  twisted  out  of  the  jaw 
by  a  turnkey.  It  was  what  suggested  the  modern  stump- 
puller.  I  let  him  hitch  on  to  the  tooth,  he  gave  the  nec- 
essary twist  and  with  a  crash  the  thing  came  out.  I  put 
a  finger  in  my  mouth,  felt  the  splinters  from  the  jaw 
sticking  through  the  bruised  flesh  and  found  a  vacancy 
too  large  for  one  tooth.  He  had  twisted  out  two  double 


Recollections  1837—1910  139 

teeth,  one  that  only  needed  filling  and  another  that  was 
perfectly  sound,  and  badly  splintered  my  jaw.  He  only 
charged  for  the  pulling  of  one  tooth.  Fortunately  my 
work  was  done  before  the  occurrence  of  this  adventure 
and  I  went  home  to  recruit. 

In  1867  I  bought  the  place  near  DeKalb  on  which  I 
am  still  living.  In  the  summer  of  1868  we  sold  our  farm 
near  Shabbona  Grove  and  moved  to  DeKalb,  and  soon 
after  began  the  building  of  our  present  home.  In  the  fall 
of  that  year  I  was  elected  representative  in  the  state 
legislature,  and  my  time  during  the  winter  following  was 
spent  in  Springfield.  As  a  member  of  the  House  I  did 
nothing,  either  good  or  bad,  to  particularly  distinguish 
myself,  but  simply  voted  on  measures  that  came  before 
us  as  the  interest  of  my  constituents  demanded  or  sug- 
gested. It  was  the  last  assembly  under  the  old  constitu- 
tion, and  being  the  last  chance  for  special  legislation  vari- 
ous remarkable  privileges  were  granted.  I  learned  some- 
thing about  the  methods  of  law-making  and  of  political 
manipulation. 

In  1868  we  had  retired  from  personal  participation  in 
the  business  at  Piano  and  had  intended  to  invest  what 
money  we  could  spare  from  patent-fee  receipts  in  western 
lands,  when  prominent  citizens  of  Sycamore  proposed  that 
we  establish  there  a  factory  for  the  manufacture  of  Marsh 
harvesters  for  territory  not  yet  licensed  west  of  the  Mis- 
souri river.  We  hesitated  a  considerable  time  over  the 
offer,  but  finally  were  persuaded  to  consent ;  the  necessary 
agreements  were  signed,  the  Sycamore  Marsh  Harvester 
Manufacturing  Company  was  incorporated,  and  in  1869 
buildings  were  erected  under  the  supervision  of  my 
brother. 


140  Recollections  1837—1910 

This  was  our  second  great  mistake.  The  territory  at 
that  time  was  too  new,  too  limited  and  the  people  too 
poor.  Sufficient  capital  for  the  business  was  not  provided, 
and  could  not  be  obtained  unless  we  furnished  it  or 
pledged  ourselves  personally  for  it,  a  risk  which  no  one 
should  take  for  the  benefit  of  other  stockholders,  for  suc- 
cess will  bring  few  thanks  and  failure  many  curses.  How- 
ever the  company  did  very  well  for  several  years  in  spite 
of  its  limitations  and  until — but  that  is  another  story, 
as  Kipling  would  say,  to  be  related  hereafter. 

The  winter  of  1869  was  mild  and  wet,  the  spring  was 
raw  and  wet,  and  the  summer  was  cool  and  wet.  My  wife 
died  May  6,  1869.  I  was  very  ill  with  a  fever  in  June 
or  July,  and  while  lying  in  bed,  moved  to  the  window 
for  the  purpose,  I  watched  the  weird  and  wonderful 
eclipse  of  the  sun  which  occurred  one  afternoon  that  sum- 
mer. The  weather  was  clear  and  still.  As  the  shadow 
slowly  crept  across  the  face  of  the  sun  and  the  bright 
light  of  day  faded  into  palid  twilight  all  nature  seemed 
to  be  hushed  into  silence.  October  1,  1869,  we  moved 
into  our  new  house. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

INTRODUCTION    OF    HARVESTER    IN    EUROPE — VIENNA    AND 
BUDAPEST MADAM  GERSTER JOE  PULITZER. 

DURING  the  winter  of  1870 .three  Marsh  harvesters 
were  shipped  from  our  Piano  factory  to  Europe 
on  special  orders  as  follows :  One  to  the  Austrian 
Minister  of  Agriculture,  Vienna ;  one  to  the  Agricultural 
School  at  Ungarisch  Altenberg,  Hungary,  and  one  for  the 
International  Reaper  Trial  to  be  held  July  11,  12  and  13, 
at  Groswardein,  Hungary.  In  the  spring  of  that  year  I 
went  to  Europe  for  the  purpose  mainly  of  attending  to 
these  machines,  accompanied  by  Mr.  K — ,  an  American- 
ized Hungarian,  who  was  going  over  to  introduce  several 
patented  improvements  that  he  had  selected,  and  also  to 
establish  an  agency  for  the  harvester  at  Budapest,  if  the 
prospect  for  sales  should  seem  favorable.  He  was  highly 
educated  and  master  of  several  languages. 

We  started  early  in  May  so  as  to  have  time,  before 
harvest  should  claim  our  attention,  for  seeing  something 
of  the  countries  and  cities  we  should  pass  through  on  the 
way.  We  took  ship  for  Glasgow,  spent  a  few  days  in 
Scotland,  then  crossed  over  to  Hamburg.  From  Hamburg 
we  went  to  Berlin  and  onward  through  Dresden  and 
Prague  to  Vienna,  stopping  a  few  days  at  each  of  the 
cities  mentioned.  We  called  on  the  minister  of  agricul- 
ture and  learned  that  his  harvester  had  arrived  and  been 
sent  out  to  the  imperial  farm  at  Voesendorf,  some  five 
or  six  miles  from  the  city;  and  we  arranged  for  notifica- 

141 


142  Recollections  1837—1910 

tion  of  the  time  when  grain  would  be  ready  to  cut  and 
we  should  be  needed. 

We  spent  a  week  in  Vienna ;  then  went  by  steamer  down 
the  Danube  to  Budapest.  It  was  a  very  interesting  jour- 
ney, no  part  of  it  more  so  than  the  ride  on  the  famous 
river ;  but  this  route  has  been  often  described  by  travelers 
and  tourists,  so  I  shall  not  bore  my  readers  by  repeating 
the  story. 

We  remained  in  Budapest  a  couple  of  weeks  while 
waiting  for  the  time  of  the  reaper  trial.  My  companion 
was  not  a  native  of  the  city,  but  he  was  quite  at  home 
there,  particularly  among  those  of  his  class,  political 
refugees  of  the  revolution  of  1848-'9,  returned  under  the 
amnesty  proclamation  of  1867.  Several  of  these  men 
had  fled  to  the  United  States  and  they  were  very  pleased, 
apparently,  to  meet  with  any  one  from  that  country.  The 
American  consul,  Mr.  Kauser,  was  of  this  class,  and  had 
lived  in  Chicago  several  years.  He  received  us  most  cor- 
dially, offered  us  the  freedom  of  his  house,  and  really  in- 
sisted that  we  should  make  ourselves  at  home  there.  Few 
Americans  were  visiting  Budapest  or  any  part  of  Hun- 
gary forty  years  ago  and  we  were  from  Chicago.  Our 
fourth  of  July  was  spent  with  him  and  his  family.  One 
member,  his  niece,  little  Etelka  Gerster,  several  years 
after  became  famous  as  the  prima  donna,  Madam  Ger- 
ster. She  was  at  that  time  about  sixteen  years  old  and 
was  developing  the  talent  that  later  brought  her  fame  and 
fortune.  She  was  a  very  nice  little  girl  and  often  sang 
for  us. 

We  had  occasion  to  call  on  the  British  consul  for  some- 
thing, and  on  entering  his  office  I  noticed  a  tall,  slender 
man  standing  before  him,  as  if  about  to  take  leave.  He 


Recollections  1837—1910  143 

was  talking  and  gesticulating  excitedly.  As  he  turned 
toward  us  I  saw  that  he  had  a  remarkable  face,  long  and 
thin  with  protruding  chin  and  a  large  nose  drooping  over 
a  retreating  mouth.  Mr.  K —  and  he  recognized  each 
other  at  once.  After  their  greetings  I  was  introduced  to 
Mr.  Joseph  Pulitzer,  of  St.  Louis.  When  he  had  gone 
out  the  consul  laughed  and  said  the  young  man  had  been 
lecturing  him  and  denouncing  the  British  government  on 
account  of  some  action  or  policy,  I  have  forgotten  what. 
He  spoke  of  him  as  one  would  of  a  person  somewhat 
flighty  or  possessed  of  a  highly  exalted  ego.  We  met 
Joe.  Pulitzer  several  times  while  we  were  in  Budapest 
and  he  gave  me  a  similar  impression.  He  was  very  vol- 
uble, assertive  and  excitable,  manifesting  in  his  talk  a 
sort  of  exaltation  like  that  which  precedes  certain  forms 
of  insanity.  Mr.  K —  said  that  Pulitzer  was  a  rattle- 
brained newsmonger,  or  reporter  of  sensational  news,  for 
a  St.  Louis  paper,  and  possibly  was  indulging  a  little  too 
freely  in  the  good  Hungarian  wines. 

He  was  visiting  his  mother,  a  very  pleasant  middle- 
aged  lady,  whose  second  husband  was  .a  mill  owner,  named 
Miller,  as  I  remember.  She  was  then  stopping  or  board- 
ing at  the  Kaiser  Bad  (Emperor's  bath),  where  we  had 
taken  rooms.  Our  acquaintance  with  her  was  much 
more  agreeable  than  with  her  son.  I  did  not  like  him, 
and  we  both  were  disposed  to  avoid  him.  Who  of  us 
could  then  have  imagined  that  this  erratic,  nervous  fel- 
low would  climb  to  the  topmost  heights  of  newspaperdom, 
be  owner  of  the  New  York  World  and  a  multimillionaire 
within  comparatively  few  years? 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

INTERNATIONAL    REAPER    TRIAL   AT    GROSWARDEIN BARON 

BAROTHY INCIDENTS   OF   THE  TRIAL — WINNING  THE 

DUCATS MY  SPEECH  AT  THE  BANQUET. 

INASMUCH  as  our  adventures  and  various  incidents 
at  the  reaper  trial  at  Groswardein  were  really  quite 
interesting,  I  shall  relate  them  in  full,  being  so  dis- 
posed more  particularly  because  some  incorrect  accounts 
of  them  have  been  published. 

We  went  to  Groswardein,  about  150  miles  southeast  of 
Budapest,  a  week  in  advance  of  the  trial  in  order  that  we 
might  learn  the  ways  of  Hungarian  peasants  in  a  harvest 
field  and  have  time  to  engage  and  instruct  binders.  We 
had  letters  to  the  local  officials  in  charge  of  the  trial  and 
also  to  Baron  Barothy,  who  had  been  a  political  refugee, 
but  was  now  manager  of  the  principal  bank  in  that  city. 
On  presentation  of  our  letter  to  him  he  insisted  peremp- 
torily that  we  should  go  to  his  house  and  be  his  guests 
during  our  stay  in  Groswardein.  He  ordered  his  carriage, 
took  us  to  the  hotel,  got  our  baggage  and  went  directly 
to  his  home  with  us.  There  he  introduced  us  to  the 
baroness,  showed  us  our  rooms  and  then  took  leave,  say- 
ing he  had  some  business  at  the  bank  yet  to  transact,  after 
completing  which  he  would  return  and  give  his  attention 
to  our  affairs. 

And  now  an  introduction  to  Baron  Barothy  (Bar-o-te) 
will  be  in  order.  He  was  about  fifty  years  of  age.  In 
figure  he  was  a  little  below  medium  height,  stoutly  built 

144 


Recollections  1837—1910  145 

and  erect  like  a  trained  soldier;  his  head  was  large,  hair 
thick  and  bushy  and  face  round  and  ruddy.  In  manner 
he  was  quick,  brusque  and  impulsive.  In  this  country  he 
would  have  been  termed  a  hustler.  He  was  an  officer  in 
Gen.  Bern's  army,  during  the  revolution  of  1848-'9.  He 
escaped  into  Turkey  when  said  army,  retreating  before 
the  Russians,  broke  up  near  the  Turkish  frontier,  and 
later  he  came  to  the  United  States.  With  some  money 
sent  him  by  his  brother  he  purchased  a  farm  of  four 
hundred  acres  near  Omaha,  Neb.  He  told  us  that  he 
walked  across  the  state  of  Iowa,  looking  for  a  farm  such 
as  he  wanted  and  at  a  price  that  he  could  pay,  finding  it 
at  last  beyond  the  Missouri  river.  He  lived  on  this  farm 
several  years  and  until  the  amnesty  proclamation  of  1867, 
when  he  returned  to  look  after  his  deceased  brother's  es- 
tate, which  included  shares  in  the  bank  he  was  managing. 
His  first  wife  died  before  he  came  to  America ;  their  one 
child,  a  son,  he  sent  for  and  left  here.  While  on  the 
farm  in  Nebraska  he  married  a  German  girl,  by  whom  he 
had  a  son,  a  youth  of  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  when 
we  were  at  Groswardein.  He  had  become  an  American 
citizen,  and,  apparently,  had  been  so  fortunate  or  so  well 
treated  while  in  the  United  States  that  he  was  enthusias- 
tic in  his  praises  of  our  country  and  its  institutions.  All 
which  accounts  for  his  taking  charge  of  us  so  promptly, 
and  for  the  notable  help  he  gave  us  later. 

The  trial  was  competitive,  forty  gold  ducats  and  di- 
ploma being  the  first  prize.  It  was  to  be  held  in  a  field 
of  wheat  on  the  bishop's  estate,  about  three  miles  from 
the  city  (the  prelates  of  Hungary  are  well  fixed  in  landed 
estates).  The  field  adjoined  a  small  forest,  owned  by  the 
bishop  and  in  charge  of  a  Saxon  yager  or  forester  who, 
11 


146  Recollections  1837—1910 

with  his  wife,  lived  in  a  comfortable  lodge  in  the  woods 
near  by.  The  isolation  of  the  forester's  abode  suggested 
to  me  its  desirability  as  a  quiet  place  for  setting  up  and 
keeping  the  harvester.  On  mentioning  this  to  the  baron, 
who  had  been  fully  advised  of  our  plans  and  had  ridden 
out  with  us,  he  at  once  ordered  the  driver  to  the  forester's 
lodge.  The  big,  blonde  Saxon  readily  assented  to  our 
request,  and  immediately  on  our  return  to  the  city  the 
baron  sent  a  team  out  with  the  machine. 

It  was  necessary  to  get  permission  from  the  bishop  to 
operate  the  machine  in  the  field,  and  also  authority  to  use 
men  and  teams  employed  on  the  farm.  The  baron  at- 
tended to  this  matter  for  us,  obtaining  an  order  to  the 
yager  directing  him  to  see  that  we  were  supplied  with 
what  we  might  need.  Fortunately  for  us  the  yager  was 
a  foreigner  and  a  Saxon;  his  sympathies  were  with  us, 
and  he  immediately  claimed  relationship  with  me  as  an 
Anglo-Saxon,  which  I  readily  acknowledged,  my  com- 
panion acting  as  interpreter.  He  gave  us  the  most  of  his 
time  while  we  were  there,  helped  us  to  set  up  the  ma- 
chine, brought  us  team  and  men  as  needed,  and  quickly 
learned  to  bind  with  me.  Several  languages  are  spoken 
in  Hungary,  but  German  is  official  and  is  taught  in  all 
the  schools. 

As  soon  as  we  began  work  I  saw  that  the  peasants  were 
against  us.  The  best  of  them,  as  selected  by  the  yager, 
would  not  learn  to  bind,  nor  to  drive  and  handle  the  ma- 
chine properly.  We  tried  several,  but  could  not  get  will- 
ing or  satisfactory  work  from  them,  even  though  we 
paid  largely  and  promised  much  more  if  they  would  learn 
to  do  fairly  well  what  we  wanted  of  them.  The  yager 
said  that  they  looked  upon  the  machine  as  their  enemy, 


Recollections  1837—1910  147 

as  a  contrivance  of  the  devil  to  deprive  them  of  their 
right  to  earn  their  bread.  Their  threatening  remarks  led 
him  to  fear  that  they  might  damage  the  machine,  so  every 
night  it  was  driven  up  close  to  his  lodge,  and  he  slept 
beside  it  as  we  learned  later. 

The  reapers  used  on  the  estate  were  Johnston's  self 
rakers  as  made  for  eastern  Europe  (sweep-rake,  without 
seat).  The  horses  attached  were  led.  The  way  of  bind- 
ing there  was  to  make  the  bands  of  rye  straw  in  the 
winter;  to  bring  them  to  the  field  when  reaping  began 
and  deposit  them  in  convenient  bunches,  where  they  were 
moistened.  As  the  machine  started  two  or  three  men 
followed  with  hooks,  shaped  like  a  hand  sickle,  with  which 
they  gathered  and  snugged  the  gavels;  next  followed 
women  with  bands,  laying  one  across  each  gavel,  and  af- 
ter them  came  the  binders  and  then  the  shockers.  I 
counted  sixteen  men  and  women  working  after  one  reaper. 
The  bands  were  strong,  long  and  limber  and  I  adopted 
them  for  our  binding,  by  fixing  an  iron  rod  to  the  out- 
side of  each  table  of  the  machine  and  hanging  them 
thereon. 

The  trial  was  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  state  agri- 
cultural society;  the  entries  were  ten  machines,  of  Eng- 
lish, German  and  Hungarian  makes,  and  our  harvester. 
The  first  day  was  devoted  to  preliminaries,  the  arrange- 
ment of  program,  appointment  of  judges,  etc.,  and  the 
making  ready  of  the  machines.  The  second  day  was 
given  to  the  exhibition  of  the  machines,  explanations  of 
their  principles,  capacity,  etc.,  including  dynamometer 
tests  in  and  out  of  the  grain.  On  the  third  day  came 
the  real  trial,  the  competition  for  best  and  most  econom- 
ical work.  The  trial  field  was  divided  so  that  each  ma- 


148  Recollections  1837—1910 

chine  had  two  lots.  The  first  lot  was  for  determining 
quality  of  work,  waste  being  considered,  of  course,  but 
not  speed  or  endurance,  as  judges  were  to  make  frequent 
examinations.  The  second  lot  was  turned  over  to  the 
machine  and  its  operators  who  were  to  do  their  best,  in 
their  own  way  and  without  interruption. 

The  peasants  on  the  farm  had  done  so  poorly  that  we 
had  given  them  up ;  the  baron  had  supplied  a  driver  from 
town  and  the  Saxon  had  consented  to  help  me  do  the 
binding. 

Operations  on  trial  day  were  to  begin  at  10  a.  m.  The 
driver  had  orders  to  bring  the  harvester  to  the  field  early. 
When  we  arrived  we  found  the  machine  in  place  and  the 
Saxon  beside  it  anxiously  awaiting  us.  Our  first  glance 
at  his  countenance  told  us  that  it  covered  a  tale  of 
^oe.  He  had  had  a  scrimmage  with  a  poacher  that 
morning  and  in  hitting  him  had  bruised  his  hand — it  was 
considerably  swollen — so  that  he  could  not  bind,  but  he 
had  brought  in  one  of  the  peasants  we  had  been  train- 
ing to  take  his  place. 

The  day  was  fair  but  very  hot.  There  was  a  large 
crowd  in  attendance,  composed  mainly  of  farmers,  land 
owners  and  notables  from  the  surrounding  country,  lead- 
ing business  men  from  the  city  and  parties  interested  in 
the  machines.  A  few  ladies  in  carriages  were  also  in  the 
field. 

Before  work  began  the  baron,  attired  in  a  coarse  linen 
suit,  with  a  common  American  straw  hat  on  his  big  head, 
rode  up  to  us.  He  said  he  used  to  drive  on  his  own 
reaper  in  America ;  that  he  had  made  up  his  mind  that 
morning  to  drive  for  us  through  the  trial,  so  he  had  put 
on  a  suit  of  his  Nebraska  farm  clothes  and  here  he  was 


Recollections  1837—1910  149 

ready  for  business.  I  gladly  accepted  his  offer,  thinking 
that  he  could  drive  better  than  any  one  on  the  ground, 
and  I  could  direct  him  when  necessary  regarding  speed  as 
I  could  not  the  driver  engaged. 

The  baron's  outfit  attracted  general  attention.  At  the 
call  of  some  ladies  in  a  nearby  carriage  he  went  to  them. 
They  had  a  short  but  excited  conversation  and  he  came 
back  laughing.  He  said  they  were  his  sister-in-law  and 
daughters ;  they  were  scandalized  by  his  appearance,  and 
were  terribly  shocked  on  learning  that  he  was  going  to 
drive  on  the  machine ;  they  begged  him  not  to  so  demean 
himself  and  disgrace  them ;  but  he  simply  told  them  they 
were  all  d — d  fools  and  turned  away.  That  carriage  im- 
mediately left  the  field.  He  drove  for  us  to  the  end  of 
the  trial  and  his  driving  saved  the  day.  His  example 
told  on  the  Saxon,  for  after  noting  the  blundering  work 
of  the  peasant,  while  the  machine  made  a  couple  of 
rounds,  he  jerked  him  off  the  platform,  took  his  place 
thereon  and  bound  with  me  until  the  lot  was  finished. 

I  have  forgotten  to  say  that  the  grain  was  fully  ripe 
and  stood  straight,  but  it  was  pretty  well  supplied  with 
Canada  thistles — yes,  Canada  thistles.  A  German  reaper 
had  cut  the  lot  next  to  ours.  Its  representative  was  a 
hustling  young  Jew  of  Budapest.  He  came  over  to  the 
harvester  and  followed  around  with  the  judges  several 
times.  I  noticed  that  he  was  making  remarks  about  its 
operation  and  catching  his  eye  pointed  him  to  his  own 
machine,  but  he  still  followed.  As  we  halted  at  a  corner 
he  stepped  forward  and  called  attention  to  the  shelled 
wheat  lying  on  the  rear  beam  of  the  platform  behind  the 
canvas.  I  rolled  one  of  the  damp  bands  into  a  snug  wad 
and  threw  it  at  him,  hitting  him  fairly  on  the  side  of  his 


150  Recollections  1837—1910 

head.  The  fellow  jumped  as  if  he  had  been  shot,  looked 
around  and  saw  me  shaking  my  fist  at  him.  It  startled 
the  judges  also,  but  the  baron  met  the  occasion  with  a 
torrent  of  Hungarian,  seasoned  with  expletives,  I  was  told, 
directed  first  at  the  Jew,  ordering  him  away,  etc.,  and  next 
at  the  judges,  expostulating  with  them  for  allowing  a 
competitor  to  interfere  in  such  a  way.  They  took  the 
baron  good  naturedly,  as  everybody  seemed  to,  and  told 
the  fellow  to  attend  to  his  own  business. 

I  stepped  off  the  platform  and  asked  one  of  the  judges, 
who  spoke  English,  if  they  would  please  examine  the 
ground  carefully  for  waste,  explaining  that  the  reel  would 
knock  out  some  grain,  most  of  which  on  our  machine 
would  pass  up  and  be  bound  in  the  bundle  or  would  lie 
behind  the  canvas;  while  with  ordinary  reapers  it  would 
be  swept  off  upon  the  ground  with  the  gavel.  They  did 
so  and-  found  no  perceptible  waste  on  my  lot,  but  con- 
siderable shelled  grain  under  and  about  the  gavels  de- 
livered from  the  German  machine.  The  Jew  kept  at  a 
safe  distance  thereafter.  The  baron  enjoyed  the  incident 
immensely;  it  lingered  with  him. 

Next  came  the  trial  of  speed  and  endurance,  quality  of 
work  to  be  considered,  of  course.  Each  lot  contained 
about  three  quarters  of  an  acre.  The  grain  on  mine  was 
in  fine  condition  for  binding,  barring  the  thistles,  so, 
though  my  hands  were  bleeding  from  raw  wounds  made 
in  setting  up  the  machine  and  from  the  wear  and  tear 
since,  I  determined  to  bind  it  alone  with  team  going  at 
usual  reaping  speed.  As  we  struck  into  the  grain  I  told 
the  baron  to  keep  the  team  right  up  to  their  work.  With 
a  good  supply  of  strong,  ready-made  bands  which  had 
been  carefully  strung  upon  the  rods,  I  was  able  to  take 


Recollections  1837—1910  151 

care  of  the  grain  as  fast  as  it  came.  We  cut  and  bound 
the  lot  in  twenty-eight  minutes  without  missing  a  bundle 
or  making  a  balk  of  any  kind ;  indeed,  it  was  as  nice  a 
piece  of  work  as  I  ever  saw  done,  but  every  bundle  was 
marked  with  my  blood. 

The  trial  over  I  took  account  of  my  condition.  I  was 
drenched  with  perspiration,  my  clothes  were  full  of  beards 
and  thistles  and  my  bruised  and  pricked  hands  were  giv- 
ing me  much  pain.  We  left  the  field  as  early  as  possible 
so  that  I  might  wash  up,  doctor  my  hands  and  change 
clothing. 

It  was  now  night.  The  judges  were  at  the  principal 
hotel  where  they  and  the  officials  and  the  exhibitors  and 
the  other  notables  were  to  indulge  in  a  banquet  and  a 
general  jollification.  We  had  been  invited,  but  I  was  so 
used  up  that  I  refused  to  go  with  the  others  and  went 
to  bed.  Shortly  after  a  man  in  livery  came  with  a  mes- 
sage from  one  of  the  officials  requesting  my  presence  at 
the  hotel.  The  baroness  explained  to  him  that  I  was  in 
bed,  sick.  A  little  later  the  baron  came  rushing  in  ex- 
claiming that  I  had  won  the  first  prize  and  must  go  right 
over  to  receive  it  before  the  banquet  should  begin. 

I  stood  not  upon  the  order  of  my  going  but  went.  I 
was  marched  up  before  the  dais  upon  which  the  judges 
sat,  was  greeted  with  a  short  speech  in  Hungarian  from 
the  chief  official,  and  was  handed  the  forty  gold  ducats, 
diploma  to  follow.  I  returned  thanks  in  English.  Neither 
understood  the  other ;  but  I  had  the  ducats  and  was  happy 
despite  my  sore  hands  and  tired  body.  We  learned  that 
the  representatives  of  the  other  machines  had  joined  in  a 
vigorous  protest  against  the  award  to  our  harvester,  on 
the  plea  that  it  was  not  a  reaper  and  therefore  not  prop- 


152  Recollections  1837—1910 

erly  a  competitor.     Over  there  as  here  it  was  the  field 
against  the  harvester. 

The  banquet  was  a  great  success  in  number  of  partici- 
pants, in  noisy  conversation,  in  much  eating  and  drink- 
ing, accompanied  by  continuous  music  from  a  Gypsy  band. 
After  the  banquet  came  the  speaking.  In  course  they 
called  upon  me  for  a  speech.  Now  nature  did  not  intend 
me  for  a  public  speaker;  but  had  afflicted  me  with  con- 
stitutional stage  fright  as  with  a  birth-mark.  I  have  never 
been  able  to  stand  before  a  public  audience  and  plainly 
tell  what  I  knew  or  wanted  to  say.  But  on  this  occasion 
I  had  no  fear.  Whether  it  was  due  to  our  success,  to 
the  golden  ducats  in  my  pocket,  to  the  wine  or  to  the  fact 
that  no  one  understood  English  well  enough  to  closely 
follow  what  I  might  say,  or  to  all,  for  the  first  and  only 
time  in  my  life  I  arose  and  made  a  speech  without  trepi- 
dation. I  harangued  them  with  the  self  assurance  of  a 
seasoned  stump-speaker  about  something  or  nothing,  I 
cannot  remember  what.  At  last  recollecting  that  we  were 
going  to  leave  them  and  start  toward  home  next  day, 
there  came  to  my  mind  some  lines  from  Scott's  "Lay  of 
the  Last  Minstrel,"  which  I  had  learned  for  declamation 
when  a  boy.  I  spouted  them  forth  as  follows : 

"Breathes  there  the  man,  with  soul  so  dead, 
Who  never  to  himself  hath  said, 

This  is  my  own,  my  native  land! 
Whose  heart  hath  ne'er  within  him  burned, 
As  home  his  footsteps  he  hath  turned 

From  wandering  on  a  foreign  strand?"  Etc. 

As  I  sat  down  the  banqueters  applauded  vociferously, 
the  baron  stared  at  me  wonderingly  and  my  friend  laughed 


Recollections  1837—1910  153 

quietly.  Next  morning  a  newspaper  in  its  account  of  the 
banquet,  said  that  Herr  Marsh  spoke  with  that  readiness 
and  eloquence  for  which  his  countrymen  are  so  celebrated. 

The  foregoing  is  the  full  story  of  my  participation  in 
the  Groswardein  reaper  trial.  It  may  seem  to  be  punctu- 
ated by  a  good  many  "Fs;"  but  it  has  been  told  in  part 
and  that  incorrectly  in  "Casson's  Romance  of  the  Reaper," 
and  I  had  to  tell  the  story  of  my  own  doings  in  order  to 
put  it  straight.  I  will  add  that  there  were  no  "grand 
dukes"  at  the  trial  or  in  any  way  connected  with  it. 
Grand  dukes  are  not  lying  around  loose  in  Europe  and 
Hungary  has  none,  though  there  seemed  to  be  a  plentiful 
supply  of  counts  and  barons.  And  furthermore  I  am  not 
writing  a  romance. 

Our  leave-taking  of  Baron.  Barothy  and  family  was 
really  affecting.  We  were  the  only  Americans  who  had 
been  in  Groswardein  since  his  return.  We  had  come 
from  the  far  west  where  he  had  resided.  We  had  made 
good  his  claims  for  American  superiority.  My  friend 
was  well  acquainted  with  his  son  Victor  in  Chicago. 
Pointing  to  his  second  son,  he  said :  "When  he  reaches 
eighteen  years  I  am  going  to  send  him  to  Chicago  to 
learn  American  ways  in  his  youth,  and  to  become  an 
American  citizen.  Here  he  cannot  work  and  hold  place 
in  his  class,  and  I  will  not  have  a  loafer  in  my  family." 
The  baroness  broke  into  tears  and  cried,  "He  will  send 
my  boy  away.  Oh,  he  will  do  it." 

I  have  never  heard  of  Baron  Barothy  since.  Some 
twelve  or  fifteen  years  ago  the  Chicago  newspapers  gave 
an  account  of  the  suicide  of  a  young  Hungarian,  brother 
of  Victor  Barothy,  the  wine  merchant.  He  had  shot 
himself  to  make  good  his  pledge  in  what  is  termed  the 


154  Recollections  1837—1910 

American  duel  in  Hungary;  that  is,  when  two  persons 
have  a  deadly  quarrel,  instead  of  fighting  it  out  with 
deadly  weapons,  they  draw  lots  and  the  loser  must  kill 
himself  within  a  fixed  period.  It  is  really  a  Hungarian 
and  not  at  all  an  American  duel,  yet  it  is  so  called  in 
Hungary,  as  I  have  noticed  in  several  Hungarian  works, 
notably  in  Maurus  Jokai's  "Debts  of  Honor"  and  "Eyes 
Like  the  Sea." 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

FRANCO-PRUSSIAN  WAR —  TRIAL  AT  UNGARISCH  ALTENBURG 

— DUKE      AND      DUCHESS INTERESTING      INCIDENT 

TRIAL  AT  VOESENDORF — LUDOVICA  ARRIVES — HER  STORY 
HOMEWARD  BOUND. 

ON  our  return  to  Budapest  we  learned  that  war  had 
been    declared    between    France    and    Prussia. 
Shortly  after  we  went  on  to  Ungarisch  Altenberg. 
We  operated  a  harvester  ordered  there,  three  or  four  days, 
on  the  college  farm  for  the  professors  and  students.    Ev- 
erything went  off  satisfactorily.     Weather  was  fine  and 
grain  in  good  condition.     We  were  able  to  instruct  two 
German  peasants  so  that  they  bound  very  well  under  the 
inducement  of  liberal  extra  pay.    The  country,  like  that 
at  Groswardein,  is  generally  level,  with  fertile  soil. 

Here  we  met  a  prince  or  duke  and  his  duchess,  Nich- 
olas of  Wurtemberg  and  his  wife.  He  was  the  son  or 
nephew  of  the  king  of  Wurtemberg.  They  were  spend- 
ing a  few  days  at  a  castle,  near  the  town,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  hunting  some  kind  of  game,  woodcock,  I  think, 
in  the  neighboring  forest.  Having  heard  about  the  new 
American  harvester,  they  drove  out  to  see  it.  They  were 
much  interested  in  its  operation;  both  followed  around 
after  it  on  foot,  making  inquiries  and  observations  to  me 
as  they  spoke  English  perfectly.  They  were  very  nice 
and  unassuming  in  manner.  He  was  about  thirty-five 
years  of  age  and  she  a  year  or  two  younger,  apparently. 
They  looked  like  brother  and  sister.  The  same  descrip- 

155 


156  Recollections  1837—1910 

tion  could  fit  both;  slender,  of  medium  height,  neither 
handsome  nor  ill  looking,  rather  frail  and  narrow  shoul- 
dered, appearing  on  the  whole  as  if  they  had  come  of 
worn-out  stock.  Unknown,  they  would  not  attract  at- 
tention anywhere.  They  did  not  converse  with  the  pro- 
fessors except  to  ask  necessary  questions.  They  held 
aloof  from  the  crowd,  and  people  did  not  approach  them. 

The  last  day  the  professors  had  a  public  trial,  which 
the  students  and  many  of  the  townspeople  attended. 
They  were  not  permitted  to  follow  the  machine,  how- 
ever. The  piece  of  grain  selected  was  nearly  or  quite 
half  a  mile  long.  The  duke  and  duchess  came  early.  She 
remained  in  the  big  carriage  at  a  corner  of  the  field,  while 
he  followed  around  with  me  (my  friend  had  sought  the 
shade)  several  times,  though  it  was  extremely  hot.  On 
one  of  the  rounds  he  called  a  halt  at  the  farther  end  of 
the  piece.  Stepping  up  before  the  grain  receiver  he  said, 
substantially  :  European  peasants,  generally  speaking,  will 
not  learn  to  bind  on  this  machine ;  but  an  automatic 
binder  can  be  applied  here — pointing  to  the  receiver — 
and  the  process  of  harvesting  by  machinery  be  com- 
pleted. Then  he  showed  how  he  thought  a  steel  arm, 
carrying  wire,  might  embrace  a  gavel  in  the  receiver, 
the  twist  and  cut  be  accomplished  by  some  device,  and 
the  bundle  bound  and  cast  off.  His  idea  was  quite  like 
that  of  the  several  inventors  who  at  that  time  were  ap- 
plying their  inventions  to  the  Marsh  harvester  in  the 
United  States.  He  further  said  that  if  I  would  stay  or 
return,  we  would  employ  good  mechanics  and  work  out 
the  problem.  I  did  not  believe  then  that  it  was  possible 
to  produce  a  practical  automatic  binder  and  so  told  him. 

Wherever  we  operated  the  harvester  in  Europe  I  no- 


Recollections  1837—1910  157 

ticed  that  no  thought  was  given  to  the  condition  of  the 
men  at  work  on  it.  However  tired  or  thirsty  they  might 
be,  no  suggestion  of  rest  was  made  and  no  water  was  pro- 
vided or  time  allowed  for  getting  it,  except  as  we  might 
order.  At  this  trial  the  crowd  at  the  end  of  the  field 
was  well  supplied  with  drinks.  The  professors  in  charge 
frequently  quenched  their  thirst,  and  so  did  I.  It  was 
left  for  the  duke  to  teach  us  all  a  lesson.  On  return 
from  the  last  round  he  made  with  me,  he  went  to  his  car- 
riage and  came  back  with  two  big  mugs  of  beer  which  he 
handed  to  the  sweating  Germans  on  the  machine.  They 
drank,  but  were,  apparently,  too  astonished  or  too  abashed 
to  speak  their  thanks.  He  went  again  to  the  carriage, 
brought  back  two  glasses  of  beer,  handed  me  one,  drank 
to  my  health  and  success,  said  good-bye  and  drove  off. 
We  saw  them  no  more. 

Next  day  we  went  up  to  Vienna  where  we  found  let- 
ters from  home.  Mr.  K had  been  acting  as  corre- 
spondent for  The  Chicago  Tribune  and  I  for  The  Post. 
Here  he  received  a  cablegram  from  his  paper,  asking  if  he 
could  go  to  the  headquarters  of  the  German  army  and 
there  represent  it  during  the  war.  After  some  consider- 
ation he  cabled  his  acceptance  of  the  proposition.  While 
he  was  awaiting  instructions  we  went  out  to  Voesendorf 
to  start  the  machine  in  the  wheat  harvest  then  just  be- 
ginning on  the  imperial  farm. 

Voesendorf,  some  five  or  six  miles  from  Vienna,  is  an 
estate  of  the  crown.  It  lies  in  a  beautiful  vale  at  the  end 
of  a  range  of  half-clad  hills,  almost  mountainous,  once 
heavily  wooded  and  still  called  the  Viennese  forests.  The 
place  was  originally  a  hunting  resort  of  the  royal  family, 
and  was  so  used  until  the  beginning  of  the  last  century. 


158  Recollections  1837—1910 

The  little  village  on  the  estate  consisted  of  an  old  palace, 
built  in  the  thirteenth  century,  with  a  few  houses  ad- 
joining for  the  retainers,  purveyors,  etc.  When  we  were 
there  Baron  Brenner,  a  jolly  old  bachelor,  was  in  charge 
of  the  property,  residing  in  the  palace  and  overseeing  the 
work  on  the  big  farm.  We  were  his  guests  during  the 
several  days  in  which  the  machine  was  being  officially 
tested,  operated  and  exhibited. 

Here  for  the  first  time  we  found  men  who  could  be 
taught  to  bind  and  to  manage  the  machine,  after  the 
usual  instructions,  without  our  assistance  or  presence,  the 
conditions,  fortunately,  being  all  favorable.  The  heads 
of  the  agricultural  department  and  other  notables  came 
out  from  the  city  to  see  the  harvester  work.  Usually 
after  a  brief  inspection  of  its  operations,  they  sought 
shade  within  the  thick  walls  of  the  palace,  where  they 
were  treated  to  various  refreshments  by  the  baron.  It 
was  a  jolly,  easy  week  for  us  all,  the  end  of  our  work ; 
thereafter  my  course  would  be  homeward. 

The  baron  went  out  one  morning  to  give  some  orders 
before  we  would  start  for  the  field,  but  soon  rushed  in 
exclaiming  excitedly,  "Ludovica  ist  hier,  Ludovica  ist 
hier."  Evidently  my  friend  had  told  him  her  story,  for 
he  knew  at  once  who  she  was  and  why  she  came.  We 

went  out  to  her  carriage.  Mr.  K talked  with  her  a 

few  minutes,  then  got  in  and  drove  off  with  her,  leaving 
us  for  the  time  without  explanation  of  his  prompt  action. 
As  her  story  is  quite  interesting  I  will  now  tell  it. 

THE  STORY  OF  LUDOVICA  GEMING. 

One  morning  soon  after  our  arrival  in  Budapest,  we 


Recollections  1837—1910  159 

took  a  bus  at  the  steamboat  landing  to  go  out  to  the  park. 
There  was  one  other  passenger,  a  handsome  young  lady, 

apparently  about  twenty-five  years  old.    Mr.  K looked 

at  his  watch  and  she  asked  him,  in  German,  the  time.  He 
answered  that  in  Chicago  it  was o'clock,  but  in  Buda- 
pest, as  he  figured,  it  was  o'clock.  This  I  under- 
stood quite  well,  but,  of  course,  not  the  conversation  that 
followed.  As  she  left  the  bus  she  gave  him  her  card. 
He  then  told  me  that  the  young  lady  wanted  to  go  to  the 
United  States  and  had  been  making  inquiries  regarding 
the  country,  the  chances  for  obtaining  employment  as 
teacher  of  music  or  art,  the  cost  of  the  journey,  etc.,  and 
that  he  was  going  to  call  on  her  that  afternoon  to  talk 
the  matter  over  further. 

On  his  return  from  the  call  he  said  that  the  address 
given  him  was  the  house  of  a  friend  where  he  met  her 
and  learned  that  she  was  a  daughter  of  Baron  Geming 
(barons  are  plentiful  over  there),  that  her  mother  was 
dead  and  her  father  married  again,  to  a  woman  with 
whom  she  could  not  live  agreeably;  in  short,  that  her 
present  life  was  intolerable  and  she  was  determined  on 
going  to  the  United  States  where  she  believed  she  could 
make  her  living  as  teacher  of  music  or  painting,  all  which 
had  induced  her  to  seek  from  him  the  information  she 
had  been  so  anxious  to  obtain.  He  had  answered  her 
questions  as  best  he  could;  and  at  her  request  had  prom- 
ised to  call  on  her  again  at  her  home — when  she  should 
set  the  time  by  note  to  be  left  at  our  hotel — as  she  wanted 

to  show  him  some  of  her  work.    Mr.  K further  said 

that  she  was  evidently  intelligent,  highly  cultured  and 
apparently  honest;  but  back  of  it  all  there  seemed  to  be 
some  mystery. 


160  Recollections  1837—1910 

That  evening  he  mentioned  his  adventure  to  Consul 
Kauser,  who  then  told  us  the  sad  story  of  Ludovica  Gem- 
ing.  Her  father,  Baron  Geming,  had  at  one  time  been 
quite  wealthy,  but  in  speculation  and  gambling  he  had 
lost  nearly  all  his  property.  Then  he  had  taken  to  drink, 
had  become  morose  and  really  brutal  to  his  family.  His 
wife  died  leaving  two  children,  this  daughter  and  a  son 
several  years  younger.  The  mother  had  some  property 
>vhich  she  left  to  them;  but  the  father  had  wasted  most 
of  it.  His  habits  became  worse,  and  as  a  wind-up  to  a 
long  spell  of  hard  drinking  he  had  married  one  of  his 
servants.  Ludovica  was  rarely  gifted,  high  spirited  and 
beautiful ;  but  the  bad  behavior  of  her  father  and  the 
bringing  of  such  a  stepmother  into  the  family  not  only 
wounded  her  pride,  but,  in  connection  with  the  loss  of 
property,  repelled  eligible  suitors.  One  appeared,  how- 
ever, in  the  person  of  a  wealthy  widower,  of  middle  age, 
whom  her  father  favored  and  she  hated. 

Mr.  Kauser  then  explained  how  completely  a  woman 
was  controlled  by  the  male  head  of  a  family  in  Hungary. 
She  was  always  subject  to  restraint,  as  a  minor  child  is 
in  this  country.  If  a  wife  went  anywhere  against  her 
husband's  consent  he  could  have  her  arrested  and  brought 
back,  and  the  same  with  an  unmarried  daughter,  no  mat- 
ter how  old  she  might  be.  If  the  husband  and  father 
were  dead  his  son  could  assume  such  authority. 

On  account  of  the  persistence  of  said  suitor  and  the 
persecution  of  her  father,  Ludovica  ran  away  to  Vienna, 
whether  to  friends  or  to  seek  employment  there  I  do 
not  remember.  She  was  soon  located,  an  order  for  her 
arrest  forwarded  and  she  was  thrown  into  a  common  jail 
among  a  promiscuous  lot  of  the  lowest  criminals.  Be- 


Recollections  1837—1910  161 

fore  officials  from  Budapest  came  for  her  she  had  been 
shamefully  abused  by  the  male  prisoners.  On  the  way 
home  as  they  were  crossing  the  great  chain  bridge,  which 
hangs  high  above  navigation  over  the  Danube  at  Buda- 
pest, she  sprang  out  of  the  carriage  and  jumped  from  the 
bridge  into  the  river.  She  was  rescued  by  some  English 
boatmen.  The  abuse  and  the  shock  of  the  attempt  at  sui- 
cide nearly  killed  her.  She  was  seriously  ill  several 
months,  quite  insane  part  of  the  time,  and  it  was  thought 
that  she  had  not  as  fully  recovered  her  mental  as  her 
physical  health. 

Her  case  aroused  general  indignation  at  prison  meth- 
ods. The  Budapesten  officials  made  charges  against  the 
Viennese  officials.  The  charges  and  retorts  made  public 
the  abominable  conditions  prevailing  in  the  prisons  of 
both  cities.  Then  the  Hungarian  parliament  took  the 
case  into  consideration  and  induced  the  government  at 
Vienna  to  take  action,  with  the  result  that  after  a  great 
deal  of  sensational  publication  and  discussion  some  prison 
reforms  were  accomplished,  especially  in  the  matter  of 
promiscuous  detention. 

This  account  greatly  aroused  Mr.  K 's  interest  in 

the  girl  and  my  curiosity.  A  few  days  later  came  her 
note  of  invitation  which  much  to  my  gratification  in- 
cluded me.  At  the  time  appointed  we  went  to  her  home. 
The  house  was  plain,  not  large,  but  it  was  elegantly  furn- 
ished, much  more  so  than  we  had  anticipated.  She  re- 
ceived us  cordially,  her  brother,  a  lad  of  about  fifteen 
years,  being  with  her.  Evidently  he  was  in  her  confi- 
dence. 

Her  manner  was  that  of  a  well-bred  lady.  I  could  not 
understand  the  conversation  that  ensued,  but  I  noticed 

12 


162  Recollections  1837—1910 

that  her  voice  was  well  toned  and  her  gestures  and  move- 
ments were  graceful.  She  really  was  a  beautiful  woman, 
much  above  the  average  in  a  city  noted  for  the  beauty  of 
its  ladies.  She  was  tall  and  slender,  of  well  rounded 
form,  and  she  had  what  poets  might  term  a  sweet,  sad 
face.  She  showed  some  of  her  paintings,  played  the  piano 
and  sang  for  us  and  seemed  anxious  to  make  a  good  im- 
pression, as,  indeed,  she  did.  When  returning  my  friend 
said  she  was  an  artist,  that  she  could  make  her  way  in 
America  and  he  would  help  her  to  get  there. 

He  saw  her  again  and  they  planned  that  she  should 
accompany  us  on  our  return.  Her  brother  wanted  to 
go  also,  but  that  was  not  deemed  safe  or  expedient,  Mr. 

K promising,  however,  that  he  would  help  him  to 

join  her  next  year  when  he  would  be  coming  over  again. 
He  explained  our  work,  told  her  about  when  we  expected 
to  get  around  back  to  Vienna,  and  arranged  that  as  soon 
as  we  could  definitely  fix  the  date  for  our  start  home- 
ward he  would  duly  notify  her  so  that  she  could  join 
us  at  the  exact  time.  They  were  not  to  meet  again  for 
fear  of  arousing  suspicion,  but  she  was  to  prepare  for  the 
journey  and  be  ready  at  notice  to  come  to  us,  provided 
she  could  carry  her  plans  through,  of  which  she  seemed 
quite  confident.  All  this  I  learned  from  him,  as  I  took  no 
part  and  assumed  no  responsibility  in  the  adventure. 

Soon  after  we  went  to  Groswardein.  On  our  return, 

before  we  left  Budapest,  her  brother  brought  Mr.  K 

a  note  stating  that  she  would  be  ready.  We  went  on  to 
Ungarisch  Altenberg  and  then  to  Vienna  as  related. 

As  soon  as  Mr.  K had  determined  to  remain  in 

Europe  with  the  German  army  we  had  to  take  Ludovica's 
case  into  consideration.  We  decided  at  once  that  the 


Recollections  1837—1910  163 

plan  could  not  be  carried  out,  as  in  returning,  on  account 
of  the  war,  I  would  have  to  go  down  to  Venice,  then 
across  Italy,  up  through  France  and  on  to  London,  stop- 
ping at  various  places  on  the  way;  we  could  not  un- 
derstand each  other  and  it  would  not  be  proper  for  us  to 
travel  together,  especially  for  her.  So  my  friend  wrote 
her  explaining  the  conditions,  telling  her  that  she  could 
not  go  with  us,  but  promising  that  he  would  help  her 
through  next  year. 

But  the  girl  had  set  her  heart  on  going ;  she  had  burned 
the  bridges  behind  her,  so  to  speak,  having  pawned  for 
expenses  the  diamonds  her  mother  left  her,  and  had  so 
cut  loose  from  home  that  she  could  not  stay.  In  des- 
peration, therefore,  she  came  on  to  Vienna  determined  to 

go  forward  with  or  without  our  company.  Mr.  K 

could  not  discuss  the  matter  with  her  at  Voesendorf,  so 
accompanied  her  back  to  the  city,  as  stated.  Arriving 
at  the  hotel  they  found  officers  already  there  after  her. 
They  would  have  arrested  my  friend  also ;  but  luckily  her 
declaration  that  he  had  advised  against  her  following  was 
supported  by  his  letter  which  she  showed  them,  so  they 
had  no  case  against  him.  Her  grief  at  being  compelled 

to  return  was  pitiable.  Next  year  Mr.  K inquired 

for  her  and  learned  that  she  had  gone  down  the  river 
to  Belgrade,  as  was  reported,  and  her  father  had  given 
her  up. 

A  few  days  later  Mr.  K received  his  despatches; 

he  started  northward  for  the  German  army  and  I  south- 
ward for  Venice,  and  onward  by  the  route  already  men- 
tioned. I  was  alone,  couldn't  speak  Italian  or  French, 
and  it  was  a  lonesome  journey.  The  French  troops  had 
been  withdrawn  from  Rome  and  Italy  was  ablaze.  I 


164  Recollections  1837—1910 

stopped  off  at  Milan,  went  up  to  Lake  Maggiore,  then 
on  to  Turin,  over  Mount  Cenis  and  up  through  France 
to  Paris,  where  I  arrived  immediately  after  the  great 
battle  of  Gravelotte,  in  which  the  French  army  was  badly 
defeated.  All  Paris  was  in  gloom.  Trainloads  of 
wounded  were  arriving.  Riots  were  beginning.  The 
empire  was  tottering.  Three  of  four  days  there  were 
enough.  I  went  over  to  London  where  I  engaged  pas- 
sage from  Liverpool,  and  a  week  later  I  was  on  the  At- 
lantic homeward  bound. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

IN  THE  STATE  SENATE — TWENTY-SEVENTH  ASSEMBLY  FIRST 
UNDER  NEW  CONSTITUTION — THE  LEADERS — NOTABLE 
MEN  OF  THE  TIME — GENERAL  BEVERIDGE. 

IN  the  fall  of  1870  I  was  elected  to  the  state  Senate  in 
connection  with  J.  W.  Eddy,  of  Kane  county.  The 
senatorial  district  then  comprised  the  counties  of  De 
Kalb,  Kane  and  Dupage,  and  was  entitled  to  two  mem- 
bers of  the  Senate.  The  election  was  preceded  by  a  very 
spirited  contest,  on  account  of  a  split  in  the  Republican 
senatorial  convention,  held  at  Turner  Junction  (now 
West  Chicago),  and  the  nomination  of  two  pairs  of  can- 
didates. Dupage  county  was  the  most  directly  interested 
in  this  contest,  the  old,  county-seat  fight  between  Naper- 
ville  and  Wheaton  not  having  yet  been  fully  settled. 

As  I  favored  and  was  pledged  to  the  Wheaton  side  of 
the  controversy,  the  people  of  that  town  and  of  the  north 
end  of  Dupage  county  strongly  supported  me.  One  of 
these  supporters,  in  convention  and  during  the  campaign, 
was  a  young  lawyer  of  Wheaton,  a  slender  young  fel- 
low with  pale,  intellectual  face,  named  Elbridge  H.  Gary. 
For  many  years  past  he  has  been  chairman  and  guiding 
spirit  of  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation.  His  name 
will  be  perpetuated  by  the  recently  established  city  of 
iron  and  steel  workers  south  of  Chicago. 

The  twenty-seventh  General  Assembly  of  Illinois  was 
the  first  held  under  the  then  new  constitution.  Special 
legislation  having  ended  with  the  old  constitution  it  was 

165 


166  Recollections  1837—1910 

the  province  of  this  assembly  to  provide  general  laws  to 
meet  and  fit  the  needs  of  private  enterprises,  public  utili- 
ties, state  institutions,  etc.  The  work  and  its  responsi- 
bilities were  onerous;  but  the  assembly,  with  Governor 
John  M.  Palmer's  able  assistance — he  was  one  of  our  best 
governors — was  equal  to  the  occasion  and  gave  to  the 
state  a  code  of  general  laws  which  have  seldom  failed 
to  meet  the  requirements  when  properly  applied  or  ex- 
ecuted or  obeyed  by  the  officials  selected  to  administer 
them. 

No  more  able  or  more  reliable  body  of  men  ever  as- 
sembled in  Springfield.  Republicans  and  Democrats  gen- 
erally ignored  party  politics  and  worked  together  har- 
moniously for  the  common  good.  In  the  House,  James 
P.  Root  and  William  M.  Smith  were  prominent  leaders 
of  the  Republicans,  and  Col.  William  R.  Morrison  and 
William  Springer  of  the  Democrats.  In  the  Senate  no 
one  was  distinctively  a  leader;  but  there  were  several 
members  who  took  leading  parts  in  the  framing  and  dis- 
cussion of  the  bills,  notably,  on  the  Republican  side,  Gen. 
Allen  C.  Fuller,  of  Boone  county,  James  K.  Edsall,  of 
Lee,  Andrew  Crawford,  of  Henry,  Thomas  A.  Boyd,  of 
Fulton,  Judge  W.  H.  Underwood,  of  St.  Clair,  Gen.  John 
McNulta,  of  McLean,  and  John  N.  Jewett  and  Gen.  John 
L.  Beveridge,  of  Cook ;  and  on  the  Democratic  side  Sam- 
uel L.  Casey,  of  Jefferson,  James  M.  Epler,  of  Morgan, 
William  Reddick,  of  La  Salle,  John  Landrigan,  of  Ed- 
wards, and  James  M.  Washburn,  of  Williamson.  Only 
two  of  these  men  are  now  living. 

I  made  agreeable,  and  in  some  instances  intimate,  ac- 
quaintance with  many  persons,  not  members  of  the  leg- 
islature, with  whose  names  the  people  of  the  state  were 


Gen.  John  L.  Beveridge. 


Recollections  1837—1910  167 

familiar  forty  years  ago.  Among  them  I  recall,  with 
pleasant  memories,  Jesse  K.  Dubois,  Gen.  Charles  Lip- 
pincott,  Milton  Hay,  Virgil  Hickox,  Jacob  Bunn,  Col. 
Sam.  Buckmaster,  Col.  Robert  G.  Ingersoll,  George  S. 
Bangs,  Gen.  Richard  J.  Oglesby  and  Gen.  John  A.  Lo- 
gan. I  knew  James  H.  Beveridge  and  Floyd  K.  Whitte- 
more  before  they  left  our  county  for  Springfield,  and  the 
renewed  acquaintance  developed  into  close  friendship. 
They  are  all  dead. 

Gen.  Beveridge  was  boarding  with  his  brother  and  fam- 
ily. Their  home  life  so  attracted  me  that  I  begged  to  be 
included,  and  they  took  me  in  on  account  of  old  acquaint- 
ance. This  brought  me  into  intimate  association  with 
one  of  the  best  men  I  have  ever  known.  John  L.  Bever- 
idge .  was  a  gentleman  by  nature  and  training.  Of  fine 
and  commanding  presence,  innate  courtesy  and  good  ad- 
dress, he  was  a  notable  figure  in  the  Senate.  His  ability 
and  conscientious  devotion  to  the  work  made  him  a  most 
valuable  member.  But  he  was  too  modest  and  too  scrupu- 
lous for  marked  success  in  politics;  so,  though  he  was 
soon  after  made  governor  and  gave  us  an  excellent  ad- 
ministration, he  was  later  left  in  the  rear  by  the  more 
self-assured  and  pushing  politicians  of  his  time.  The 
last  years  of  his  life  he  spent  in  contented  retirement  at 
Hollywood,  Cal.,  where  he  died  last  April  at  the  advanced 
age  of  eighty-six. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

HUNTING  TRIP  TO  COLORADO  IN  1871 BUFFALO  SHOOTING 

HUNTING   AND    FISHING    IN    THE    FOOT-HILLS — OLD 

DAVE  LIKENS — JACK  SLADE — STORY  OF  INDIAN  RAID — 
IMMENSE  HERD  OF  BUFFALOES. 

BOTH  the  Piano  and  the  Sycamore  factories  had 
been  shipping  harvesters  to  an  agent,  Henry  Green, 
located  at  Boulder,  Colo.,  for  farmers  occupying 
the  valleys  of  the  streams  that  run  down  from  the  moun- 
tains and  empty  into  the  Platte  river.  So  in  September, 
1871,  I  fixed  up  for  a  trip  to  Colorado,  for  the  purpose 
of  looking  after  the  business  and  then  of  spending  a  few 
days  hunting  and  fishing  in  the  mountains,  intending 
also  to  lay  over  a  few  days  at  some  point  on  the  way  for 
a  brief  buffalo  hunt.  With  all  this  in  view  I  arranged 
to  go  by  the  southern  route,  that  is,  from  Kansas  City 
over  the  Kansas  Pacific  railway  to  Denver,  and  obtained 
permit  to  stop  off  at  a  station  in  the  buffalo  country 
where  I  expected  to  engage  a  hunter  to  guide  and  assist 
me  in  the  slaughter  of  the  big  animals. 

Of  course  I  was  well  armed — with  rifle,  revolver,  big 
knife  and  many  cartridges.  Not  far  beyond  Abilene  we 
began  to  see  buffaloes  (more  properly  bisons,  but  let  us 
still  call  them  buffaloes)  from  the  train  in  scattering  lots 
at  first  and  then  in  large  herds  or  droves.  They  were 
leisurely  moving  southward,  crossing  the  track  here  and 
there,  apparently  less  afraid  of  the  locomotive  and  train 
than  herded  cattle  would  be.  Several  times  speed  had  to 

168 


Recollections  1837—1910  169 

be  slackened  to  avoid  running-  into  them.  They  seemed 
to  be  bent  on  taking  their  course  with  little  or  no  regard 
to  what  might  be  in  their  way.  There  were  many  strag- 
glers in  the  rear.  Evidently  they  were  old  bulls  that  had 
been  driven  out  of  the  herds  by  the  younger  and  stronger, 
and  sick  or  decrepit  animals  that  had  fallen  behind. 
These  stragglers  were  moving  on  alone  or  in  couples  or 
more.  They  manifested  less  fear  of  the  train  than  did 
the  herds,  only  halting  as  they  found  themselves  too  close, 
and  very  seldom  turning  back  from  it. 

With  windows  raised  the  passengers  were  intently 
watching  the  animals  and  their  movements.  As  the  train 
slackened  speed  to  let  a  bunch  cross,  two  old  bulls 
scrambled  up  the  embankment  and  over  the  track  just  in 
front  of  the  engine,  so  that  in  passing  they  were  but  a 
few  rods  from  the  car  in  which  I  was  sitting.  The 
temptation  to  shoot  was  too  strong  to  resist,  so  I  pulled 
out  my  revolver  and  fired  at  the  one  in  the  rear,  missing 
him,  but  hitting  the  other  as  I  could  see  by  his  flinching 
and  turning  to  attack  his  mate  as  the  aggressor.  We 
left  them  fighting  because  of  the  pain  I  had  wantonly 
inflicted.  It  occurred  to  me  at  once  that  the  act  was 
shameful,  and  also  on  further  reflection  that  hunting  buf- 
faloes was  mere  butchery,  little  better  than  shooting  cat- 
tle in  a  pasture,  and  I  soon  decided  not  to  indulge  in  it, 
but  to  go  on  directly  to  Denver. 

In  answer  to  inquiry  our  agent  at  Boulder  had  informed 
me  that  there  was  plenty  of  game  in  the  foot-hills  and 
trout  in  the  streams,  and  that  he  would  be  glad  to  ac- 
company me  on  a  hunting  and  fishing  excursion.  In 
Denver  I  called  on  Kendrick  Skeels,  an  old-time  resi- 
dent of  DeKalb,  whom  many  will  remember,  told  him 


170  Recollections  1837—1910 

what  we  were  intending  to  do  after  getting  through  with 
our  business  and  asked  him  to  join  us.  He  said  he  would 
if  he  could,  and  he  did. 

Several  days  were  spent  at  Boulder  in  settling  accounts 
and  in  making  excursions  to  the  neighboring  valleys, 
bordering  the  streams  which,  coming  down  from  the 
mountains,  empty  into  the  Platte  river  several  miles  out 
on  the  plains,  the  river  running  northward  nearly  paral- 
lel with  the  range  as  far  as  Greeley  where  it  bends  east- 
ward. These  streams,  northward  from  the  latitude  of 
Denver,  were,  in  their  order,  then  named  as  follows :  Lit- 
tle Boulder,  Boulder,  St.  Vrains,  Little  Thompson  and 
Big  Thompson,  the  latter  emptying  into  the  Platte  at 
Greeley.  Forty  years  ago  their  rich  valleys  were  being 
rapidly  brought  under  cultivation,  with  wheat  as  the  chief 
product.  Between  them  were  wide  ridgelands,  unsettled 
and  apparently  barren. 

Our  business  ended  and  Skeels  on  hand,  we  loaded  our 
traps,  arms  and  ammunition,  eatables  and  drinkables,  upon 
Green's  buckboard  wagon,  climbed  on  and  started  off. 
Our  objective  point  for  the  night  was  the  ranch  of  Dave 
Likens  on  the  Little  Thompson,  where  we  arrived  in 
good  season,  and  were  received  with  hearty  welcome. 
The  house  and  buildings  were  close  up  against  the  range, 
just  where  the  stream  leaves  the  canyon  to  make  its  way 
through  the  foot-hills  in  its  course  towards  the  Platte, 
a  most  beautiful  location. 

"Old  Dave,"  as  everybody  in  that  region  called  him, 
was  a  tall,  raw-boned  Missourian,  a  jolly  bachelor  past 
middle  age,  a  noted  story-teller  and  a  "wild  steer"  when 
in  town.  During  the  Pike's  Peak  excitement  in  1859  he 
had  come  out,  like  so  many  others,  after  gold,  but  not 


Recollections  1837—1910  171 

finding  as  much  of  it  as  he  expected,  he,  unlike  the  ma- 
jority of  the  disappointed  gold  seekers,  determined  to 
remain  in  that  region  and  try  his  hand  at  farming  and 
cattle  raising.  He  had  been  very  successful  and  was  now 
the  owner  of  a  big  herd  of  cattle  and  a  large  ranch  along 
the  creek. 

His  house,  miles  from  any  other,  was  a  sort  of  rude 
bungalow,  but  very  comfortable.  It  stood  on  a  smooth 
piece  of  ground,  a  few  feet  above  the  level  of  the  stream 
and  in  the  midst  of  a  well-cultivated  garden,  which  was 
then  yielding  an  abundant  supply  of  most  delicious  mel- 
ons. There  was  not  a  woman  on  the  place.  Old  Dave 
and  his  men  did  all  the  work  on  the  premises  and  did  it 
well  apparently,  for  the  rooms  were  clean,  the  beds  good 
and  the  meals  satisfactory. 

Green  prevailed  on  the  old  man  to  accompany  us ; 
so  next  day  we  discarded  the  buckboard,  loaded  the  stuff 
into  Likens'  covered  wagon,  hitched  the  mules  to  it  and 
•:off  again  we  started.  That  night  we  made  camp  in  the 
foot-hills  over  on  the  Big  Thompson.  We  had  seen  a 
few  antelopes  on  the  way,  but  did  not  get  a  shot.  Next 
day  we  devoted  to  antelope  hunting.  Several  were  seen, 
two  or  three  shots  were  fired,  but  not  one  brought  down. 
We  broke  camp  on  the  second  morning,  and  worked  our 
way  up  stream  as  far  as  the  team  could  go.  That  after- 
noon we  fished,  and  such  fishing!  The  stream  was  alive 
with  trout.  We  could  see  them  by  the  dozen  in  the  pel- 
lucid pools.  The  fishing  was  simply  throwing  in  the 
baited  hook  and  pulling  out  a  trout.  That  evening  we 
broiled  twenty  for  supper. 

The  weather  was  delightful.  As  many  will  recollect, 
the  September  before  the  great  fire  in  Chicago  was  very 


172  Recollections  1837—1910 

warm.  It  was  too  warm  up  there  in  the  mountains  for 
successful  hunting,  Likens  said.  But  sitting  or  lying 
around  the  camp-fire  that  night  after  a  good  day's  work 
and  an  excellent  supper  was  very  enjoyable.  Old  Dave 
was  in  fine  fettle,  and  when  a  little  more  toddy  had  lim- 
bered his  tongue  he  poured  forth  story  after  story.  He 
told  of  his  early  struggles,  when  almost  bare-handed  he 
was  exerting  his  wits  and  his  body  to  the  utmost  to  es- 
tablish a  home  in  that  wild  country,  of  his  troubles  with 
the  Indians,  whom  he  hated  "like  pizen,"  of  his  collisions 
with  the  desperadoes  who  infested  that  section  in  the 
early  days,  and  of  his  sprees  in  Denver.  Most  of  his 
stories  I  have  forgotten  and  some  of  them  would  not 
bear  repeating. 

He  knew  Jack  Slade  and  several  of  his  gang.  Ac- 
cording to  Likens,  Slade  must  have  been  a  human  tiger. 
Slade  was  for  a  time  an  employe  of  one  of  the  old  Cali- 
fornia stage  line  companies.  Among  the  other  employes 
he  had  confederates  who  did  the  stealing  of  horses,  cat- 
tle, etc.,  while  he  looked  after  their  protection  by  mis- 
directing, intimidating  or  killing  pursuers.  They  had 
things  pretty  much  their  own  way  for  two  or  three  years, 
or  until  the  atrocious  murder  of  Jules — another  desperado 
but  not  so  villanous — by  Slade  aroused  such  general  in- 
dignation that  he  had  to  leave  that  part  of  the  country. 
He  went  to  Virginia  City  where  a  year  or  two  later  he 
was  hanged  by  the  Vigilantes. 

The  story  of  this  murder  as  told  by  Likens  was  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  it  appears  in  the  annals  of  Colorado. 
In  nervy  exploits  and  pistol  practice  Slade  and  Jules 
were  rivals  to  some  extent.  They  had  quarreled,  and  in 
the  first  encounter  Jules  got  the  better  of  Slade,  I  have 


Recollections  1837—1910  173 

forgotten  how.  They  were  separated,  but  Slade  swore 
vengeance.  It  seems  that  their  roads  led  apart  for  a 
couple  of  years  thereafter,  when  some  friends  of  Slade 
on  the  North  Platte  captured  Jules  and  notified  Slade. 
He  came  on  fast  and  furious.  When  he  arrived  he  found 
his  victim  bound  to  a  post  in  a  corral.  Slade  shot  him 
twenty-two  times  before  killing  him,  telling  him  each 
time  where  he  was  going  to  hit,  avoiding  a  vital  spot 
until  the  last.  Then  he  cut  off  Jules'  ears  and  put  them 
into  his  pocket.  It  was  his  boastful  exhibition  of  these 
bloody  trophies  in  a  Denver  saloon,  soon  after,  that 
called  attention  to  the  barbarous  deed  and  started  pro- 
ceedings that  caused  him  to  precipitately  leave  the  terri- 
tory. Julesburg  was  named  after  Jules. 

Old  Dave's  stories  kept  us  up  late,  but  early  next  morn- 
ing he  routed  us  out  of  our  blanketed  beds  on  the  ground 
and  bade  us  prepare  for  our  proposed  hunt  after  black- 
tail  deer.  We  put  lunches  in  pockets,  intending  to  be 
out  all  day.  We  separated,  taking  different  routes  or 
directions,  and  keeping  them  as  far  as  possible.  I  tramped 
and  climbed  and  watched  for  deer  until  nearly  noon,  with- 
out seeing  a  sign  of  one,  when,  becoming  thoroughly  dis- 
gusted, I  made  my  way  back  to  camp  as  fast  as  I  could. 
There  I  found  Green  and  Old  Dave.  Green  said  he  had 
just  come  in,  having  seen  nothing,  and  Dave  said  he 
hadn't  been  out  at  all ;  just  slid  behind  a  rock  and  waited 
till  we  had  got  away,  then  came  back  to  camp  and  went 
a-fishing.  He  said  he  knew  the  day  before  that  the 
deer  were  still  up  on  the  mountains,  but  concluded  not 
to  tell  us  so,  thinking  that  a  hunt  after  them  wouldn't 
hurt  us  much  and  would  better  satisfy  us.  Skeels  came 
in  a  little  later  with  a  report  similar  to  mine.  We  all  fished 


174  Recollections  1837—1910 

that  afternoon  with  great  success,  but,  tired  of  catching 
more  fish  than  we  wanted  or  could  take  care  of,  we 
broke  camp  the  following  morning  and  returned  to  the 
ranch. 

On  invitation  of  Likens  we  staid  at  the  ranch  next  day 
to  rest,  and  also  to  see  a  little  resort  or  retreat  that  he 
had  in  a  pocket  valley  up  the  canyon,  of  which  he  had 
been  telling  us.  As  it  was  not  far  we  walked  up.  It  was 
a  singularly  beautiful  place.  The  canyon  there  widened 
so  as  to  form  a  little  valley,  which  was  bounded  on  its 
sides  and  closed  at  its  upper  end — excepting  the  stream's 
narrow  channel — by  towering  bluffs.  Here  Likens  had 
built  a  snug,  little  log  cabin,  which  he  used  as  a  retreat 
or  resting  place  when  he  was  tired  of  seeing  folks  and 
wanted  to  meditate  on  his  sins  and  the  sins  of  others, 
especially  after  he  had  been  to  Denver. 

In  a  corner  of  the  cabin  hung  the  skeleton  of  a  man. 
We  asked  why  he  kept  such  a  gruesome  object  in  view. 
"Oh,"  said  he,  "that's  one  of  my  pets.  It's  the  only 
Indian  I'm  dead  sure  I  killed,  though  I  have  shot  at 
many  of  'em.  I  like  to  feel  that  I  have  got  him  safe." 
Of  course  we  must  have  the  story,  which  he  very  will- 
ingly related.  As  I  recollect,  it  was  as  follows: 

In  1865  during  the  troubles  with  the  Utes  a  small 
band  of  them  ran  off  his  cattle  from  the  lower  end  of 
the  ranch.  His  man  in  charge  escaped,  made  quick  re- 
port and  was  sent  in  haste  over  to  the  St.  Vrain  settle- 
ment for  help.  He  returned  in  a  few  hours  with  half  a 
dozen  settlers  and  they  set  out  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians. 
The  latter  with  the  cattle  entered  the  mountains  not  far 
from  the  place  where  we  had  just  been  camping.  Dave 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  locality  and  the  surround- 


Recollections  1837—1910  175 

ings ;  he  knew  they  would  not  undertake  to  drive  the  cat- 
tle through  that  night,  but  would  go  as  far  as  they  could, 
then  seek  a  hiding  place  and  wait  till  daylight.  He 
guessed  where  that  would  be — a  little  canyon  off  the 
trail,  well  adapted  to  hold  the  cattle  and  to  afford  de- 
fense. 

The  settlers  followed  the  trail  as  far  as  they  dared, 
then  Dave  went  forward  to  reconnoitre.  He  was  near- 
ing  the  supposed  hiding  place  when,  as  he  was  turning 
a  point  of  rock,  an  Indian  from  the  other  side  came  right 
in  front  of  him,  so  close  that  they  stood  almost  breast  to 
breast  as  both  halted  in  surprise.  Dave's  wits  came  first. 
Grasping  his  pistol,  but  not  daring  to  shoot,  he  fetched 
the  Indian  a  smashing  blow  on  the  head  that  sent  him 
to  ground  with  a  crushed  skull.  Having  thus  disposed 
of  this  scout  from  the  Indians,  Dave  returned  to  his 
party.  They  worked  their  way  carefully  toward  the  hid- 
ing place  and  reached  it  just  as  the  Indian  dogs  gave 
the  alarm.  They  rushed  in,  firing  rapidly.  The  Indians, 
taken  by  surprise,  scattered.  The  settlers  gathered  the 
cattle,  drove  them  back  to  the  main  trail  and  then  home 
eafely.  A  year  or  so  later  Dave  was  up  that  way,  found 
the  skeleton,  brought  it  home,  wired  and  hung  it  up  as  a 
most  satisfactory  Indian  relic. 

We  returned  to  Boulder  next  day.  Thence  I  went  up 
to  Black  Hawk  to  visit  a  cousin  living  there;  with  him 
came  down  to  Denver  to  attend  the  fair,  and  at  its  close 
started  for  home.  On  the  return  I  saw  no  live  buffaloes 
west  of  Fort  Hayes,  but  the  fresh  carcasses  along  the 
track  near  a  "dug-out"  station  in  western  Kansas,  where 
a  few  soldiers  were  quartered,  indicated  that  a  large 
drove  had  crossed  recently.  From  the  platform  of  the 


176  Recollections  1837—1910 

car  I  counted,  as  the  train  halted,  thirty-six  carcasses 
with  hides  on  and  apparently  untouched.  On  inquiry  we 
were  told  that  the  soldiers  had  killed  them  for  their 
tongues,  as  a  big  drove  was  passing  southward  a  few 
days  before.  A  short  distance  east  of  Fort  Hayes  the 
train  stopped  at  a  watering  place  in  the  valley  of  a  little 
stream.  As  we  ascended  to  the  general  level  we  saw  that 
the  plain  was  covered  with  buffaloes  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  so  far  that  the  most  distant  in  view  were 
mere  specks  against  the  horizon.  It  was  then  half  past 
one,  and  the  train  did  not  pass  entirely  beyond  the  herd 
until  four  o'clock.  Apparently  there  were  hundreds  of 
thousands  in  this  herd.  Bones,  skeletons  and  carcasses 
lined  the  way  all  through  the  buffalo  region.  Bones  were 
all  that  could  be  seen  of  our  buffaloes  a  few  years  later. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE  CHICAGO  FIRE SPECIAL  SESSION  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE 

RELIEF     MEASURES — RETIREMENT    FROM     POLITICAL 

SERVICE. 

ON  my  way  home  from  Colorado  I  passed  through 
Chicago,  Saturday,  October  7,  1871.  That  night 
a  fire  broke  out  in  the  city  on  the  west  side  and 
swept  off  all  the  buildings  on  an  area  of  about  sixteen 
acres,  next  the  river,  between  Adams  and  Van  Buren 
streets.  On  Sunday  night  at  about  9  o'clock  a  barn  on 
the  corner  of  DeKoven  and  Jefferson  streets,  west  side, 
took  fire  and  started  a  conflagration  that  destroyed  the 
best  part  of  the  city.  Its  origin  is  still  a  mystery,  though 
popularly  laid  to  the  kicking  over  of  a  kerosene  lamp  by 
Mrs.  O'Leary's  cow.  This  fire,  as  driven  forward  by  a 
southwest  gale  after  a  long  period  of  drouth,  soon  passed 
beyond  control.  Burning  fragments  of  buildings  were 
blown  across  the  river,  igniting  buildings  on  the  south 
side,  and  they  in  turn  furnished  like  torches  to  be  car- 
ried forward  by  the  blast  and  widely  scattered  northward 
and  eastward.  The  conflagration,  increasing  in  violence 
and  extent  as  thus  driven  onward,  had  destroyed  most 
of  the  business  portion  of  the  south  side,  had  jumped  the 
river  in  many  places  and  was  rapidly  devouring  the  north 
side,  by  Monday  morning;  and  it  continued  its  work  of 
destruction  all  that  day  and  the  following  night,  when 
little  was  left  to  feed  its  fires.  The  area  burned  over, 
including  streets,  was  2,100  acres  or  about  three  and  a 
13  177 


178  Recollections  1837—1910 

half  square  miles.  The  property  loss  was  estimated  at 
$200,000,000.  The  loss  of  life  was  never  clearly  ascer- 
tained, the  estimates  ranging  from  200  to  500,  while  some 
contended  that  this  loss  was  much  greater. 

Immediately  after  the  fire  Governor  Palmer  issued  a 
call  for  a  special  session  of  the  legislature,  to  convene 
on  Friday,  Oct.  13,  for  the  purpose  of  devising  and  pro- 
viding means  for  state  relief  to  the  stricken  city.  The 
assembly,  directly  after  organization,  passed  resolutions, 
conveying  sympathy  and  promise  of  assistance  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Chicago;  next  appointed  committees  to  consider 
the  several  propositions  contained  in  the  governor's  call, 
and  then  adjourned  until  Monday,  the  16th,  in  order  to 
give  members  an  opportunity  to  visit  the  city  meantime. 

With  many  other  members  I  spent  Saturday  in  Chi- 
cago, riding  around  among  the  still  burning  and  smoking 
ruins,  and  conferring  with  leading  citizens.  The  burnt 
district  was  a  harrowing  sight.  Think  of  three  and  a 
half  square  miles  of  solid  city  utterly  destroyed  by  fire, 
of  the  destruction  and  desolation,  of  the  weird  and  fan- 
tastic features  of  the  remains! 

The  legislature  convened  on  the  following  Monday  and 
immediately  began  work  on  relief  measures  suggested  by 
the  governor  in  his  message.  The  most  important  of 
these  were  covered  by  a  bill  providing  for  the  re-assess- 
ment of  the  state  in  order  to  relieve  Chicago  from  paying 
taxes  on  the  vast  amount  of  property  destroyed,  and  by  a 
bill  providing  that  the  amount  hitherto  expended  by  the 
city  upon  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  be  refunded 
and  the  lien  of  the  city  upon  the  revenues  of  the  canal 
thereby  extinguished,  as  permitted  by  option  held  by  the 
state.  Both  bills  were  put  through  as  rapidly  as  possible. 


Recollections  1837—1910  179 

By  the  passage  of  the  latter  bill  Chicago  would  be  in  re- 
ceipt of  nearly  $3,000,000  to  use  in  reconstruction  of 
bridges  and  public  buildings,  in  removing  obstructions 
from  the  streets  and  in  paying  expenses  of  the  city  gov- 
ernment, etc.  These  measures  and  others  of  less  im- 
portance having  been  pushed  through,  the  special  session 
adjourned  Oct.  24. 

This  twenty-seventh  general  assembly  had  four  ses- 
sions, two  regular  and  two  special.  The  first  regular 
opened  January  4,  1871,  and  adjourned  April  17  to  No- 
vember 15.  The  first  special  session,  called  for  the  pur- 
pose mainly  of  fixing  salaries  and  providing  means  for 
the  state's  expenditures,  opened  May  24,  1871,  and  closed 
June  22.  The  second  special,  called  to  provide  relief  for 
Chicago  after  the  fire,  opened  October  13  and  closed 
October  24.  And  the  second  regular  opened  November 
15,  1871,  and  closed  April  9,  1872.  It  gave  the  mem- 
bers who  attended  to  their  duties  as  legislators  little  time 
for  anything  else. 

On  account  of  proposed  reapportionment  of  the  sena- 
torial districts,  the  first  senatorial  term  under  the  new 
constitution  was  limited  to  two  years;  so  my  time  ex- 
pired in  the  fall  of  1872.  I  had  had  about  as  much  of 
legislation  as  I  wanted ;  and  having  become  convinced 
that  I  was  not  likely  to  distinguish  myself  in  that  line, 
and  that  attention  to  my  own  business  would  be  more  to 
my  profit  as  well  as  to  my  credit,  I  retired  from  the 
field  and  have  never  since  sought  a  political  office  or 
position. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

WILD  BILL — PANIC  OF  1873 GREAT  PROGRESS  IN  THE  IM- 
PLEMENT INDUSTRY — MARSH  HARVESTER  AT  THE 
FRONT INVENTION  OF  BARB  WIRE  FENCING. 

THE  February,  1867,  number  of  Harper's  Monthly 
Magazine  gave  an  extended  sketch  of  "Wild  Bill," 
the  most  famous  union  scout  and  daredevil  of  the 
western  border  states  during  the  Civil  War.  Having  read 
it  and  various  other  accounts  of  his  exploits,  as  they  had 
appeared  in  the  newspapers  from  time  to  time,  I  was 
much  interested  when  our  agent  at  Warrensburg,  where 
I  was  stopping  over  Sunday  while  making  a  trip  in  Mis- 
souri on  harvester  business  in  1872,  told  me  that  Wild 
Bill  was  manager  of  the  club  house  in  that  town.  I  am 
quite  sure  it  was  at  Warrensburg,  though  it  might  have 
been  at  some  other  town  where  we  had  an  agency  in 
that  part  of  Missouri.  Anyhow  Wild.  Bill  was  running 
the  club  house  in  the  town  where  I  was  stopping  and  I 
wanted  to  see  him.  The  agent  said  he  would  go  with 
and  introduce  me  there,  and  we  went. 

On  the  way  to  the  club  house  he  said  we  would  meet 
a  number  of  leading  people  there,  and  he  wanted  to  know 
what  title  he  should  give  me  on  introduction.  I  asked 
if  a  title  was  necessary.  He  laughed  and  said,  "Yes,  all 
those  fellows  have  handles  to  their  names — major,  colonel, 
general  or  judge — and  if  you  haven't  they'll  think  you 
don't  amount  to  much."  He  next  asked  if  I  held  any 
office.  When  told  that  I  was  a  member  of  our  state 

180 


Recollections  1837—1910  181 

Senate,  he  brightened  up  and  said  that  would  do  very 
well,  but  a  military  title  was  better,  so,  as  senator  ought 
to  be  good  for  colonel,  he  would  introduce  me  as  Col. 
Marsh,  aud  thus  I  was  presented  to  the  titled  assemblage 
and  to  Wild  Bill  at  the  club  house.  As  he  looked  me  over 
and  through,  I  felt  that  my  impression  on  him  would 
have  been  better  had  I  been  introduced  as  plain  Mr. 
Marsh. 

We  only  exchanged  a  few  commonplace  remarks, 
enough  for  me  to  notice  that  his  voice  was  low,  his 
language  ordinary  and  his  smile  pleasant.  I  observed 
him  closely,  as  any  one  would  a  man  who  had  killed  many 
men  with  his  own  hands,  who  had  a  national  reputation 
for  daring  and  bloody  exploits  as  scout  and  desperado. 
He  must  have  been  then  nearly  forty  years  old,  but  looked 
younger.  In  stature  he  was  fully  six  feet,  erect,  well 
proportioned,  with  great  breadth  and  depth  of  chest;  in 
every  respect  a  remarkably  handsome  man.  There  was 
not  a  bit  of  the  bully  or  braggart  in  his  manner  or  talk. 
He  was  neatly  dressed  in  ordinary  clothes  and  had  the 
appearance  of  a  quiet,  rather  reserved  gentleman  of  the 
southwest. 

The  article  in  Harper's  gives  so  good  a  description  of 
him,  as  I  saw  him,  that  I  quote  from  it.  "There  was  a 
singular  grace  and  dignity  of  carriage  about  that  figure 
which  would  have  called  your  attention,  meet  it  where 
you  would.  The  head  which  crowned  it  was  now  cov- 
ered by  a  large  sombrero  underneath  which  there  shone 
out  a  quiet,  manly  face ;  so  gentle  is  its  expression  as  he 
greets  you  as  utterly  to  belie  the  history  of  its  owner, 
yet  it  is  not  a  face  to  be  trifled  with.  The  lips  thin  and 
sensitive,  the  jaw  not  too  square,  the  cheek  bones  slightly 


182  Recollections  1837—1910 

prominent,  a  mass  of  fine  dark  hair  falls  below  the  neck 
to  the  shoulders.  The  eyes,  now  that  you  are  in  friendly 
intercourse,  are  as  gentle  as  a  woman's."  The  article 
repeats  the  story  of  Bill's  greatest  fight,  that  with  the 
McKandlas  band,  in  which  he  killed  ten  men  and  was 
himself  so  cut  and  shot  that  he  came  near  dying,  and 
relates  several  other  of  his  exploits. 

Two  or  three  years  later  Wild  Bill  was  appointed  U.  S. 
marshal  for  the  southern  district  of  Kansas.  While  he 
was  acting  in  that  capacity,  I,  in  company  with  the  late 
and  much  lamented  John  Syme,  met  him  in  Kansas  City. 
He  was  then  carrying  his  arm  in  a  sling,  having  been 
shot  through  the  shoulder,  at  a  border  town,  while  trying 
to  arrest  or  break  up  a  gang  of  outlaws,  three  of  whom 
he  killed.  Not  very  long  after  he  was  shot  and  killed 
at  Yankton  while  on  his  way  to  the  Black  Hills,  by  a 
man  who  had  followed  him  from  Kansas  City  and  sneaked 
in  behind  him.  His  real  name  was  William  Hitchcock 
or  Hickox.  He  was  born  at  or  near  Springfield,  111. 

As  I  have  previously  stated,  1869  was  a  very  wet  year. 
Our  climate  went  to  the  other  extreme  in  1870  and  gave 
us  the  driest  year  on  the  record,  with  very  light  crops  in 
consequence.  It  was  the  beginning  of  a  dry  period  which 
extended  to  midsummer  in  1875,  when  tremendous  thun- 
der storms  began  a  period  of  wet  seasons.  (I  mean 
that  during  a  wet  or  a  dry  period  of  years  the  rain  and 
snow  fall  is  more  or  less  than  normal.)  The  five  years, 
1871  to  1875  inclusive,  were  generally  favorable  to  farm- 
ers ;  crops  were  good  and  prices  were  high  enough  to  give 
fairly  profitable  returns. 

Neither  the  farmers  nor  the  makers  of  farm  machinery 
suffered  much  on  account  of  the  panic  which  followed 


Recollections  1837—1910  183 

the  failure  of  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.  in  1873.  That  hit  hardest 
in  the  mercantile  and  financial  centers.  The  implement 
industry .  showed  good  progress.  The  harvester  had  be- 
come a  standard  machine,  and  binders  were  being  at- 
tached. Mowers  had  quite  superseded  combined  machines 
for  cutting  grass.  Threshing  machines  did  more  and 
much  better  work.  Wind  mills,  disk  cultivators  and  rid- 
ing plows — single  or  gang — were  generally  used. 

During  this  period,  also,  barb  wire  fencing  was  in- 
vented and  made  sufficiently  practical  for  the  require- 
ments of  the  farm  and  the  market.  Joseph  Glidden  ob- 
tained his  first  patent  in  1874.  That  year  he  and  I.  L. 
Ellwood  began  the  manufacture  of  the  Glidden  fencing 
in  a  small  way,  and  the  next  year  they  built  the  first  barb 
wire  factory.  Two  or  three  years  later  the  Washburn 
&  Moen  Company,  of  Worcester,  Mass.,  bought  Mr. 
Glidden's  half  interest  in  the  business  and  the  patents. 
Jacob  Haish  began  his  work  in  this  line  about  the  same 
time.  The  production  of  this  kind  of  fencing  was  most 
opportune ;  for  the  supply  of  lumber  was  diminishing  and 
a  reliable  board  fence  was  very  costly.  Barb  wire  "filled 
the  bill,"  the  demand  for  it  was  enormous  and  the  in- 
ventors and  manufacturers  were  richly  rewarded  as  they 
deserved  to  be.  Through  its  manufacture,  and  the  busi- 
ness thereby  attracted,  the  little  town  of  DeKalb  has 
grown  into  a  thriving  city. 

The  harvester  trade  was  never  more  active  than  in 
1874.  Our  make  was  exhausted  and  many  orders  were 
left  unfilled.  In  short,  it  was  the  best  year  we  ever  had. 
Marked  success  in  one's  own  line  of  work  frequently 
tempts  him  to  venture  into  new  and  unfamiliar  lines. 
So  it  was  in  my  case  at  this  time,  for  I  allowed  myself 


184  Recollections  1837—1910 

to  be  drawn  into  a  publication  scheme  that  lost  for  us 
considerable  money  and  gave  me  much  more  trouble  than 
I  bargained  for. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

FOUNDING  OF  THE  AMERICAN  FIELD E.  TROYE,  THE  LAND- 
SEER   OF    AMERICA — CHRISTINE    NILSSON TENNESSEE 

CLAFLIN. 

MY  brother  and  I  were  both  fond  of  field  sports, 
shooting  and  fishing;  so,  when  a  call  was  made 
in  1874  for  a  meeting  in  Chicago  of  sportsmen 
for  the  purpose  of  organizing  an  association  to  aid  in  the 
preservation  of  game,  etc.,  we  attended  and  took  part  in 
the  proceedings.  A  couple  of  adventurous  and  impe- 
cunious young  fellows  in  Chicago,  believing  that  such  ac- 
tion offered  a  favorable  opportunity  for  projecting  a 
sporting  paper  in  the  west,  similar  to  Forest  and  Stream 
in  the  east,  incorporated  an  association  for  the  publica- 
tion of  Chicago  Field  and  Stream  (later  termed  The  Chi- 
cago Field,  and  still  later  The  American  Field.)  Having 
no  money  of  their  own  they  solicited  subscriptions  to 
the  stock  from  members  of  the  sportsmen's  association. 
IP  this  way  they  obtained  enough  from  several  of  us  to 
start  and  keep  the  paper  going  a  few  months,  when  it  be- 
came hopelessly  involved  through  incompetent  and  waste- 
ful management;  in  debt  for  material,  etc.,  with  every- 
thing mortgaged.  In  order  to  save  our  interest  I  bid  in 
the  stuff  and  the  paper  as  the  mortgages  fell  due.  Thus 
we  became  the  chief  owners  of  the  concern. 

It  was  a  lame  duck,  and  I  have  found  that  it  is  better 
to  let  lame  ducks  die  than  to  nurse  them  along.  But  I 
believed  there  was  a  good  field  for  such  a  paper  in  the 

185 


186  Recollections  1837—1910 

west,  where  most  of  the  game  was,  if  it  were  properly 
edited  and  managed;  so  we  paid  its  debts,  engaged  a 
well  recommended  manager,  selected  one  of  the  young 
fellows  for  editor,  arranged  for  contributions  from  sev- 
eral writers  in  this  line,  changed  the  name  to  the  Chi- 
cago Field,  and  went  ahead.  I  gave  it  as  much  of  my 
personal  attention  as  I  could  spare  and  occasionally  con- 
tributed to  its  columns. 

During  the  next  two  years  we  much  improved  the  pa- 
per and  increased  its  business;  but  as  it  continually  lost 
money,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  we  must  have  at 
its  head  some  one  of  established  reputation  as  authority 
on  field  sports.  After  much  negotiation  I  finally,  in  1876, 
prevailed  on  Dr.  Rowe  ("Mohawk"),  of  Forest  and 
Stream,  to  come  in  with  us  and  take  the  management. 
Ke  proved  to  be  the  right  man  for  the  place;  the  paper 
soon  began  to  pay  its  way,  and  later,  as  The  American 
Field,  it  became  eminently  successful.  In  1881,  on  ac- 
count of  our  many  burdens,  we  sold  out  to  him.  Mean- 
time for  convenience  of  publication  we  had  become  in- 
terested also  in  a  printing  establishment  from  which 
unfortunately  we  were  unable  to  free  ourselves  before  it 
became  involved  in  the  failure  of  some  book  concerns, 
thus  complicating  and  increasing  our  financial  burdens. 
And  all  this  exhibits  the  folly  of  allowing  one's  self  to 
be  drawn  into  outside  ventures  which  he  cannot  control 
or  must  leave  to  the  management  of  others. 

Many  in  this  section  will  remember  John  J.  McKin- 
non,  who  in  his  palmy  days,  along  in  the  "seventies," 
owned  the  old  John  R.  Hamlin  farm,  south  of  Sycamore, 
and  some  will  also  remember  his  thoroughbred  horse, 
Red  Eye.  But  few,  I  think,  know  that  McKinnon  in- 


Recollections  1837—1910  187 

duced  the  most  famous  animal  painter  of  the  first  half  of 
the  last  century,  Troye,  "The  Landseer  of  America,"  to 
leave  his  plantation  home  in  Alabama,  where  he  had  been 
in  retirement  for  several  years,  and  to  come  up  here, 
though  past  eighty,  to  paint  Red  Eye.  Troye  had  painted 
every  famous  race  horse  from  Eclipse  and  Sir  Henry 
down  to  the  time  of  his  retirement,  and  McKinnon  was 
determined  that  his  finish  should  be  on  Red  Eye ;  and  so 
it  proved  to  be,  for  the  old  man  died  not  long  after  his 
return  home. 

While  he  was  here,  that  is,  at  McKinnon's  place,  I 
met  him  several  times.  He  was  tall,  thin  and  straight, 
with  the  manners  of  an  old-fashioned  southern  gentle- 
man to  his  friends,  but  shy  of  and  brusque  to  strangers. 
He  was  much  interested  in  the  operations  of  our  har- 
vester, with  the  result  that  I  sent  him  a  machine  for  his 
plantation  and  he  sent  me  some  of  his  pictures  of  famous 
horses;  two  of  which,  Eclipse  and  Sir  Henry,  painted  in 
1834,  the  year  in  which  I  was  born,  are  of  considerable 
value,  I  am  told. 

Troye  did  not  seek  patronage  or  recognition  outside  of 
the  horse  racing  and  horse  breeding  interests  of  his  time, 
hence  the  general  public  know  little  of  his  work.  Ham- 
ilton Busbey,  in  his  article  "The  Running  Turf  of  Amer- 
ica," published  in  the  June  and  July,  1870,  numbers  of 
Harper's  Monthly,  paid  a  warm  tribute  to  the  genius  of 
Troye  and  said,  "His  portraits  grace  the  walls  of  culti- 
vated homes  in  all  parts  of  the  New  World  and  are 
found  in  many  of  the  galleries  of  the  Old."  By  the  way, 
these  old  Harpers  are  mines  of  useful  information. 

Many  other  notables,  besides  the  politicians  who  are 
ever  coming  and  going,  have  visited  this  community;  of 


188  Recollections  1837—1910 

whom  none  is  more  worthy  of  notice  than  Christine 
Nilsson.  In  her  childhood  in  Sweden  she  sang  at  fairs 
and  on  the  streets.  Several  who  knew  her  there  had 
immigrated  to  America  and  settled  at  Sycamore.  One 
of  them  had  particularly  befriended  her,  and  when  she, 
in  the  height  of  her  fame,  came  to  Chicago,  he  went  in 
to  see  her.  He  invited  her  out  to  Sycamore  to  visit  the 
Swedish  residents  and  suggested  that  she  give  a  concert 
for  the  benefit  of  their  church.  She  readily  consented, 
and  increased  the  favor  by  agreeing  to  give  two  con- 
certs, one  to  the  Swedes  in  their  language  and  another  of 
English  songs  to  the  Americans.  It  was  arranged  that 
the  American  concert  should  come  off  first,  early  in  the 
evening  in  the  old  Methodist  church,  so  that  she  would 
have  no  limit  to  her  time  with  her  people  at  their  hall. 
The  affair  was  decidedly  informal  and  most  enjoyable. 
She  acted  like  a  school  girl  out  for  a  good  time.  She 
sang  for  us  song  after  song  as  requested,  in  a  charmingly 
gracious  manner.  The  Swedish  concert  was  highly  emo- 
tional ;  her  light  songs  were  greeted  with  much  laughter 
and  her  sweet  home  songs  brought  tears  and  sobs.  She 
won  the  hearts  of  all  the  people. 

While  speaking  of  notables  I  am  reminded  that  Ten- 
nessee Claflin,  now  Lady  Cook,  the  noted  suffragist, 
and  her  parents  spent  a  considerable  time  in  DeKalb  dur- 
ing the  "fifties."  She  was  then  a  girl  in  her  'teens,  a 
handsome  blonde  with  long  curling  hair.  They  were 
using  her  as  a  fortune-teller  or  spirit  raiser  for  whatever 
could  be  made  in  that  profession. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

LONG  SERVICE  AS  TRUSTEE  OF  ILLINOIS  NORTHERN  HOSPITAL 
FOR  THE  INSANE — INSTITUTION'S  GOOD  RECORD  UNDER 
NON-POLITICAL  MANAGEMENT POLITICALLY  PROSTI- 
TUTED BY  THE  'GOVERNORS — STRUGGLE  WITH  GOV. 
YATES HOW  GOV.  DENEEN  BEAT  CIVIL  SERVICE — RES- 
IGNATION  THE  NEW  LAW  QUESTIONABLE. 

IN  1873,  by  appointment  of  Governor  Beveridge,  I 
became  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Illinois  Northern 
Hospital  for  the  Insane  at  Elgin,  which  position  I 
held  continuously,  being  reappointed  by  the  several  gov- 
ernors succeeding,  until  1893,  when  a  Democratic  ad- 
ministration was  inaugurated  under  Governor  Altgeld. 
At  the  time  of  my  appointment  the  other  trustees  were 
Henry  Sherman,  of  Elgin,  and  C.  N.  Holden,  of  Chicago. 
Dr.  E.  A.  Kilbourne  was  superintendent.  Only  the  north 
wing  of  the  main  building  had  been  completed  and  occu- 
pied. 

The  grounds  were  in  chaotic  condition,  covered  by  the 
debris  of  the  finished  part  and  by  material  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  center.  As  soon  as  they  could  be  re- 
lieved from  such  covering  we  began  to  grade,  to  lay  out 
the  grounds  and  to  plant  trees.  This  work,  though  most 
of  the  time  under  the  direct  care  of  a  landscape  gardener, 
was  planned  mainly  by  Dr.  Kilbourne  and  closely  super- 
vised by  him,  the  trustees  inspecting  and  advising  at  their 
monthly  meetings.  To  me  it  was  very  interesting  work. 
I  gave  to  it  considerable  extra  time,  and  assisted  Dr. 

189 


190  Recollections  1837—1910 

Kilbourne  to  the  best  of  my  ability.  The  now  notably 
beautiful  grounds  at  the  Elgin  institution  are  the  result 
of  our  early  care  and  of  the  attention  we  continued  to 
give  them  as  the  institution  was  enlarged  and  extended. 

It  was  the  intention  of  the  makers  of  the  general  law 
which  covered  the  management  of  these  charitable  insti- 
tutions, that  such  institutions  should  not  be  reckoned 
among  the  spoils  of  succeeding  parties  or  administrations, 
and  also  that  they  should  be  continuously  under  experi- 
enced management.  To  this  end  the  terms  of  the  first 
trustees,  appointed  under  the  law,  were  fixed  at  two,  four 
and  six  years,  respectively,  and  thereafter  six  years  for 
all.  Thus  the  terms  would  lap  and  always  two  of  the 
members  would  have  had  some  experience.  The  gov- 
ernor was  authorized  by  the  law  to  appoint  the  trustees 
and  their  successors,  as  vacancies  should  occur  by  ex- 
piration of  term,  by  death,  resignation  or  removal  for 
misconduct.  Beyond  the  power  to  appoint  the  trustees 
and  to  call  them  to  account  for  misconduct,  the  governor 
had  no  authority  under  the  law  to  meddle  with  the  man- 
agement. The  trustees  were  directed  by  the  law  to  or- 
ganize, to  appoint  the  superintendent,  and  the  superin- 
tendent was,  in  his  turn,  to  select  and  employ  his  assistants 
and  other  help,  subject,  like  other  transactions  in  the 
management  of  the  institution,  to  the  consideration  of 
the  trustees. 

All  the  governors,  after  the  adoption  of  the  new  con- 
stitution and  down  to  the  time  of  .Altgeld,  respected  the 
law  and  the  plain  intention  of  its  makers.  Governor  Cul- 
lom,  to  show  his  disposition  to  keep  these  institutions 
free  from  politics  and  political  place-hunters,  appointed 
a  Democrat  as  trustee  on  any  of  the  boards  where  a  va- 


Recollections  1837—1910  191 

cancy  had  occurred.  No  better  man  was  ever  appointed 
than  the  Democratic  member  of  our  board,  Frederick 
Stahl,  of  Galena. 

During  the  twenty  years  of  my  first  service  on  the  board 
the  appointment  or  employment  of  no  one  was  influenced 
by  his  politics.  Only  once  was  this  question  raised,  when 
I  suggested  the  name  of  Dr.  Brooks  to  succeed  Dr.  Kil- 
bourne,  deceased,  and  then  I  could  not  answer.  No  gov- 
'ernor  ever  asked  or  demanded  place  for  any  of  his  friends 
or  followers,  or  ever  suggested  the  appointment  of  any 
one,  except  once,  when  Governor  Fifer  telegraphed  rec- 
ommending for  superintendent  one  of  the  members  of  the 
'board  of  state  charities,  whom  we  rejected  because  we 
considered  him  too  old  and  not  sufficiently  practical  in 
business  matters.  Later  the  governor  explained  how  he 
had  been  "cornered,"  and  he  commended  our  action.  And 
all  the  governors  visited  the  institutions  oftener  and  ap- 
parently took  more  interest  in  them  before  than  after 
their  political  prostitution. 

During  all  this  period  there  were  no  graft  scandals  and 
no  serious  troubles.  Of  course  mistakes  were  sometimes 
made ;  occasionally  accidents  occurred,  or  employes  failed 
in  their  duties,  or  a  scandalous  story  was  circulated.  Sim- 
ilar troubles  befall  well  governed  communities  of  sane 
people.  How  then  can  sensible  folks  expect  that  such 
occurrences  can  be  entirely  prevented  in  a  big  community 
in  which  nearly  all  are  incapable  of  self  restraint?  I 
know  that  we  earnestly  tried  to  give  good  care  to  the  pa- 
tients and  to  the  interests  of  the  state.  No  abuse  was 
tolerated  when  known,  and  no  money  was  wilfully  mis- 
applied. I  never  saw  any  disposition  on  the  part  of  my 
associates  or  of  the  superintendents  to  do  or  cover  up 


192  Recollections  1837—1910 

any  wrong;  and  I  do  not  believe  we  were  much  better 
than  those  in  charge  of  other  institutions.  In  short,  the 
reputation  of  these  charitable  institutions  was  excellent 
until  our  governors  began  to  use  them  as  pawns  in  poli- 
tics, and  opposition  papers  in  consequence  to  abuse  them 
for  political  effect. 

Dr.  Kilbourne  and  Dr.  Brooks  were  efficient  and  con- 
scientious superintendents.  The  cares  and  responsibili- 
ties of  the  service  shortened  the  life  of  Dr.  Kilbourne. 
Dr.  Brooks  left  a  good  practice  to  enter  it,  was  turned 
adrift  by  the  Democratic  administration  and  never  re- 
gained his  hold  upon  business.  Probably  his  death  came 
earlier  in  consequence  of  such  experience.  The  trustees 
worked  for  nothing,  but  had  their  expenses  paid.  My 
twenty  years  of  service  cost  the  tax  payers  a  little  over 
$500.  Furthermore,  I  had  never  recommended  any  one 
for  place  in  the  institution  on  account  of  personal  or 
political  interest. 

Governor  Altgeld,  because  of  change  from  Republican 
to  Democratic  administration  in  this  state,  had  some  ex- 
cuse for  discharging  without  cause  all  appointed  officials 
and  their  assistants  and  replacing  them  by  those  of  his 
own  party.  But  such  action  as  applied  to  the  officials  of 
the  charitable  institutions  was  contrary  to  the  letter  and 
spirit  of  the  law  covering  them.  The  Democrats  had 
long  been  out  and  they  were  very  anxious  to  get  in ;  they 
wanted  to  see  what  had  been  going  on  and  to  enjoy 
whatever  benefits  might  accrue.  As  they  now  had  full 
possession  of  the  institutions  and  their  records,  the  public 
would  have  been  quickly  advised  if  they  had  discovered 
evidence  of  any  bad  management  in  the  past  worth  notic- 
ing. Apparently  they  found  nothing  for  they  said  noth- 


Recollections  1837—1910  193 

ing.  It  was  left  for  the  Republicans  to  befoul  their  own 
nests. 

Governor  Tanner  gave  the  Democrats  a  dose  of  their 
own  medicine  by  turning  them  all  out.  His  appoint- 
ments were  made  with  an  eye  to  the  payment  of  his  polit- 
ical debts — past,  present  and  future — rather  than  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  institutions.  To  this  end,  in  several 
cases,  salaries  were  unnecessarily  increased  and  new  posi- 
tions invented.  The  political  regime  for  these  institutions 
was  now  fully  inaugurated.  The  newspapers  unfriendly 
to  Tanner  took  a  whack  at  them  occasionally  and,  as 
such  matter  was  sensational,  other  newspapers  soon  fell 
into  the  same  habit.  To  the  credit  of  Governor  Tanner 
it  can  be  said  that  after  the  appointments  were  made  he 
left  his  appointees  subject  to  the  local  management. 

Governor  Yates  when  elected  found  himself  in  a  pecu- 
liar position.  At  the  convention  in  which  he  was  nom- 
inated he  had  promised  Tanner's  friends,  in  order  to  get 
their  much  needed  support,  that  he  would  not  displace 
a  specified  number  of  Tanner's  appointees ;  and  this  made 
it  very  difficult  for  him  to  meet  his  obligations  to  his 
own  friends.  Remember  that  under  the  law  neither  Tan- 
gier nor  Yates  had  any  authority  to  appoint  or  displace 
officials  or  employes  of  the  charitable  institutions,  except 
to  fill  vacancies  in  the  boards  of  trustees  or  to  discharge 
from  them  in  cases  of  misconduct.  (I  use  the  word 
"misconduct"  because  it  applies  to  various  faults.) 

Having  been  recommended  by  some  of  my  friends  to 
Governor  Yates  for  one  of  the  trustees  on  the  board  of 
the  institution  at  Elgin,  I  was  duly  appointed.  At  the 
first  regular  meeting  of  the  board  under  the  Yates  ad- 
ministration, Dr.  F.  S.  Whitman,  of  Belvidere,  who  had 

14 


194  Recollections  1837—1910 

succeeded  Dr.  Hamilton,  deceased,  as  superintendent,  was 
reappointed.  Our  inspection  of  the  institution  was  sat- 
isfactory; it  appeared  to  be  well  kept  and  well  managed. 
We  discussed  reforms  and  improvements  suggested  by 
the  superintendent  and  also  appointments  which  the  gov- 
ernor might  desire.  We  learned  that  the  big  farm  had 
run  down  considerably  and  that  its  management  required 
a  general  overhauling.  Prior  to  the  advent  of  the  Alt- 
geld  administration  it  had  been  yielding  a  handsome 
profit;  the  dairy  was  furnishing  all  the  milk  required  by 
the  institution,  and  large  quantities  of  vegetables  were 
being  produced.  But  through  the  neglect  and  inefficiency 
of  the  political  farmers  employed  these  products  had  fallen 
off  until  now,  the  superintendent  said,  the  state  was  pay- 
ing nearly  $400  per  month  for  milk,  and  the  yield  of  veg- 
etables was  comparatively  light.  The  head  farmer  seemed 
to  be  incapable  of  improving  the  conditions ;  but  he  was 
closely  related  to  the  very  influential  politician  who  had 
secured  his  appointment.  We  were  told  also  that  need- 
less positions  had  been  created  and  certain  salaries  un- 
necessarily increased.  The  conditions  required  immediate 
Consultation  with  the  governor;  so  we  all  went  down  to 
see  him. 

We  explained  the  situation  to  the  governor  and  found 
that  he  had  promised  to  retain  the  men  whom  we  wished 
at  once  to  remove — the  farmer  for  inefficiency  and  the 
assistant  store-keeper  as  unnecessary — and  also  that  he  ex- 
pected us  to  find  places  for  two  or  three  of  his  own 
friends.  He  was  more  tenacious  for  the  retention  of  the 
former  than  for  the  placement  of  the  latter.  He  wanted 
much  to  keep  his  word,  but  he  also  wanted  good  service 
for  the  institutions,  as  his  course  later  demonstrated. 


Recollections  1837—1910  195 

The  situation  was  distressing.  Had  it  been  as  it  was  in 
the  days  before  the  advent  of  the  Altgeld  administration, 
when  the  governors  respected  the  law,  we  would  have 
stood  up  and  said  "Governor,  we  are  going  to  run  the  in- 
stitution for  the  best  interests  of  the  state  and  its  wards 
and  not  to  pay  the  political  debts  of  our  governors.  The 
superintendent  whom  we  have  appointed  will  take  charge 
of  the  appointment  and  removal  of  his  subordinates  as 
the  law  directs."  But  we  knew  that  the  political  system 
of  running  the  institutions  had  been  established  and  that 
the  only  thing  to  do  was  to  make  the  best  of  it;  so  we 
tried  to  harmonize  interests  as  far  as  possible.  Dr.  Whit- 
man, the  superintendent,  suggested  some  changes  by 
which  he  could  take  in  the  governor's  men,  in  distinct 
understanding  that  they  must  do  their  work,  and  the  gov- 
ernor promised  that,  if  we  would  retain  the  two  men  men- 
tioned for  awhile,  he  would  find  other  places  for  them. 
This  the  governor  failed  to  do,  and  many  months  later 
we  had  to  discharge  them  peremptorily.  Meantime  po- 
litical contributions  by  employes  had  been  distinctly  de- 
clared voluntary  and  refused  transmission  through  the 
office. 

I  have  gone  into  these  details  for  the  purpose  of  show- 
ing how  demoralizing  was  the  political  system  of  running 
the  state  charitable  institutions,  how  obstructive  to  dis- 
cipline, good  work,  proper  responsibility  and  economical 
administration.  And  it  was  all  contrary  to  the  letter  and 
spirit  of  the  law.  Governor  Yates  did  not  establish  the 
system ;  he  inherited  it  and  he  couldn't  easily  abandon  it. 
He  gave  the  state  a  very  good  administration.  Being 
young  and  ambitious  he  made  some  mistakes  which  the 
Chicago  newspapers  magnified  to  the  utmost.  For  some 


196  Recollections  1837—1910 

reason,  probably  because  he  refused  to  submit  to  all  their 
demands,  they  turned  against  him  and  most  shamefully 
abused  him. 

Governor  Deneen,  our  great  reform  governor,  the 
Moses  from  the  bullrushes  of  Chicago  politics,  who  was 
to  lead  our  party  in  this  state  back  to  its  pristine  purity 
— according  to  the  Chicago  newspapers  which  stood 
sponsors  forshim — had  been  elected  by  the  time  we  had 
got  the  institution  into  fairly  satisfactory  condition.  The 
useless  members  of  the  force  had  been  eliminated,  the 
farm  much  improved  under  competent  management,  and 
other  improvements  made  for  which  the  state  had  pro- 
vided money.  In  short  the  institution  was  in  fine  running 
order  inside  and  outside,  thanks  to  the  able  and  persistent 
efforts  of  the  superintendent,  and  naturally  he  wanted  the 
new  governor  to  come  out  and  look  it  over.  So  did  the 
trustees.  He  saw  the  governor  and  got  promise  of  a 
visit  at  a  certain  time,  but  he  didn't  come.  He  wrote 
him,  telephoned  him,  saw  him,  getting  promises  always 
but  never  the  governor,  until  the  inquiry  from  us  at 
monthly  meetings,  "When  is  the  governor  coming  out?" 
became  a  rather  disagreeable  joke  on  the  doctor. 

During  the  year  after  his  election,  and  until  I  resigned, 
Governor  Deneen  had  never  visited  the  institution  and 
knew  nothing  about  its  management  or  condition,  except 
what  he  might  have  gathered  from  parties  interested,  for 
or  against. 

In  the  spring  of  1905  the  terms  of  two  of  the  trustees 
had  expired,  the  lap  of  terms  having  been  lost  through 
the  political  shuffling.  One  of  them  ceased  coming  to  the 
meetings;  the  other  continued  to  attend,  as  he  might 
until  his  successor  had  been  appointed,  so  that  there 


Recollections  1837—1910  197 

should  be  a  quorum  for  business.  It  was  the  duty  of  the 
governor  to  appoint  at  least  one  in  order  to  insure  such 
quorum. 

On  the  28th  or  29th  of  October,  1905,  I  was  sum- 
moned to  a  special  meeting  of  the  board.  On  arriving  at 
the  institution  I  found  two  new  trustees  there  with  cre- 
dentials from  the  governor.  One  bore  a  certificate  from 
his  excellency  appointing  him  president  of  the  board,  and 
also  a  long  list  of  appointees,  twenty-four  in  number, 
among  them  the  secretary  of  the  board.  Thus,  instead 
of  allowing  the  board  to  organize  itself  in  accordance  with 
the  law,  and  the  superintendent  to  make  necessary  ap- 
pointments, the  governor  had  taken  such  responsibility 
upon  himself,  a  plain  usurpation  of  the  rights  and  duties 
of  the  trustees,  and  also  of  the  superintendent. 

Apparently  Governor  Deneen's  main  object  was  to 
hurry  these,  his  appointees,  untrained  and  untried,  into  the 
positions  of  our  experienced  employes — assistant  physi- 
cians, chief  clerk,  book-keeper,  history  clerk,  store-keeper, 
etc. — so  that  they  should  be  safely  placed  before  Novem- 
ber 1,  a  day  or  two  later,  when  the  civil  service  law  would 
take  effect ;  by  which  action  the  governor  would  beat  the 
state  out  of  the  benefits  of  the  law,  pay  his  political  debts 
and  force  into  the  service  a  lot  of  fellows,  most  of  whom 
would  have  been  barred  out  if  they  had  been  subjected 
to  examination.  Only  two  or  three  of  them  made  good 
and  held  their  jobs. 

But  this  program  could  not  be  carried  out  in  full ;  for 
the  two  new  trustees  saw  plainly  that  the  business  opera- 
tions of  the  institution  would  be  seriously  embarrassed 
if  a  lot  of  raw  recruits  were  immediately  put  in  the  places 
of  the  experienced  employes,  especially  in  the  offices, 


198  Recollections  1837—1910 

when  the  superintendent  explained  to  them  (the  trus- 
tees) what  the  duties  were  and  the  necessity  of  experi- 
ence and  familiarity  for  their  proper  performance;  so 
they  telephoned  to  the  governor,  explaining  the  situa- 
tion and  suggesting  that  only  such  changes  be  made  as 
would  not  endanger  the  service.  They  came  to  some 
understanding  and  the  appointments  of  several  were  rati- 
fied by  the  board.  But  even  then,  to  make  sure  of  reason- 
ably efficient  service,  the  trustees  considered  it  necessary 
to  keep  several  of  the  ousted  officials  in  their  places  for 
a  time,  if  they  would  consent  to  remain  under  pay,  in 
order  that  they  might  instruct  the  new  officials  in 
their  new  duties.  With  this  proposition  the  superin- 
tendent and  I  went  down  to  the  displaced  officials.  After 
much  urging  they  magnanimously  consented  to  remain, 
only,  however,  as  a  personal  favor  to  us.  Had  Yates 
been  guilty  of  any  such  irregularities,  giving  them  the 
mildest  designation  possible,  the  Chicago  newspapers 
would  have  flayed  him,  but  as  committed  by  their  man 
Deneen  they  took  no  notice  of  them. 

I  remained  on  the  board  until  after  the  December  meet- 
ing, when  I  resigned.  I  did  so  not  because  of  any  objec- 
tion to  serve  with  the  new  trustees,  who  appeared  to  be 
good  men,  but  because  I  was  old  enough  to  retire  and  I 
did  not  care  to  serve  under  such  a — well,  such  conditions. 
The  governor  acknowledged  receipt  of  my  resignation 
and  my  name  was  stricken  off  the  list.  But  a  couple  of 
years  later  it  appeared  in  its  old  place  in  the  reports  to 
the  legislature,  because,  as  I  suppose,  he  had  discovered 
that  he  had  disobeyed  the  law  in  not  appointing  my  suc- 
cessor and  feared  that  some  one  might  call  him  to  account 
for  such  neglect. 


Recollections  1837—1910  199 

A  few  months  after  my  retirement  Dr.  Whitman  re- 
signed from  the  superintendency.  When  I  went  on  the 
board  this  last  term  I  was  so  prejudiced  against  his  sup- 
posedly political  management  that  I  would  not  vote  for 
his  reappointment.  I  soon  saw  reason  to  change  my  opin- 
ion, and  long  before  I  left  the  board  I  regarded  him  as 
eminently  able,  reliable  and  efficient,  as  well  fitted  for  the 
position  as  any  superintendent  in  the  state. 

It  may  be  said  that  I  have  gone  too  much  into  the  de- 
tails of  my  connection  with  the  Elgin  institution,  but  I 
was  on  the  board  of  its  trustees  twenty-five  years,  and 
many  things  would  occur  worth  noticing  in  such  a  long 
period.  Besides,  I  thought  it  well  to  show  up  the  perni- 
cious results  of  political  interference  with  the  manage- 
ment of  charitable  institutions  by  tracing  its  course 
through  our  institution  from  its  dirty  beginning  to  its 
rotten  end. 

Whether  the  conditions  will  be  better  or  worse  under 
the  new  system  remains  to  be  tested.  I  still  believe  that 
a  properly  qualified  superintendent,  aided  as  need  be  by 
his  assistants,  can  select  a  better  class  of  employes  than 
the  "paper"  candidates  furnished  by  the  Civil  Service 
Board,  and  that  the  withdrawal  from  the  superintendent 
of  the  right  to  employ  and  peremptorily  discharge  is  more 
or  less  detrimental  to  discipline.  It  is  too  early  to  pass 
judgment  on  the  work  of  the  Board  of  Administration. 
But  it  is  a  political  board,  since  the  members  are  appointed 
by  the  governor  and  hold  office  for  six  years  instead  of 
"during  good  behavior."  They  may  save  considerable 
by  buying  in  large  quantities,  and  they  may  lose  by  lack 
of  ability  to  properly  determine  what  and  how  much  to 
buy;  and  it  is  not  impossible  for  them  to  have  interests 


200  Recollections  1837—1910 

in  the  sales  or  the  sellers.  Then  there  are  the  Charities 
Commission  and  the  Board  of  Visitors.  These  boards, 
unless  the  members  are  of  much  better  material  than 
"common  clay,"  are  liable  to  clash,  to  disagree  in  their 
conclusions,  reports  or  advice,  or  to  be  influenced  by  jeal- 
ousies. They  will  keep  the  superintendents  in  hot  water. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

A    WET    PERIOD AGRICULTURAL    MACHINERY    AT    CENTEN- 
NIAL   EXHIBITION THREE-CORNERED    FIGHT    IN    OLD 

FOURTH    DISTRICT — GEN.    HURLBUT — SENATOR    LOGAN 
— LEWIS   STEWARD GEN.   FREMONT  AND  WIFE. 

THE  wet  period  beginning  in  the  summer  of  1875, 
as  mentioned,  continued  through  1876  and,  with 
short  intermisson  in  1877,  for  several  years  there- 
after. During  this  period  agricultural  immigration  pushed 
westward  far  out  upon  the  "American  desert."     It  was 
not  a  prosperous  period  for  agriculture  as  crops  were  not 
over-abundant  and  prices  of  farm  products  were  gener- 
ally low. 

At  our  great  Centennial  Exhibition,  held  in  Philadelphia 
in  1876,  the  magnificent  displays  of  farm  machinery  and 
of  other  improved  machines,  devices  and  appliances, 
showed  that  wonderful  progress  had  been  made  in  all  the 
useful  and  practical  arts  within  the  preceding  fifty  years 
or  since  the  era  of  rapid  and  expanding  development  be- 
gan. The  display  of  farm  implements  and  machines  was 
gorgeous.  Manufacturers  of  farm  machinery  vied  with 
each  other,  as  never  before  or  since,  in  the  fine  finish  of 
their  exhibits.  Gold  and  silver  and  nickel  plating  was 
common.  One  reaper  cost  in  the  making  about  $5,000,  it 
was  said.  The  harvester  exhibited  by  Gammon  &  Deering 
and  the  Sycamore  Marsh  Harvester  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, made  by  the  latter,  cost  more  than  $1,000.  Auto- 
matic grain  binders  (their  first  appearance  at  a  big  exhi- 

201 


202  Recollections  1837—1910 

bition),  harvesters,  reapers,  mowers,  plows  (single,  gang 
and  sulky),  cultivators,  seeders,  drills,  corn  planters,  horse 
rakes,  hay  loaders  and  balers,  corn  shelters,  cider  mills, 
farm  scales,  wind  mills,  and  threshers,  of  various  makes 
and  styles,  were  shown ;  also  a  steam  thresher  and  ditch- 
ing machine ;  besides  an  endless  variety  of  the  smaller  im- 
plements and  tools. 

In  1876  there  was  a  notable  three-cornered  fight  in  our 
"old  fourth"  district  for  membership  of  Congress,  the 
candidates  being  William  Lathrop,  of  Winnebago  county, 
and  Gen.  S.  A.  Hurlbut,  of  Boone  county,  Republicans, 
nominated  at  the  memorable  split  convention  in  Geneva, 
and  John  F.  Farnsworth,  the  Democratic  nominee.  At 
the  same  time  Shelby  M.  Cullom,  Republican,  and  Lewis 
Steward,  of  Piano,  Democrat,  were  nominees  of  their  re- 
spective parties  for  governor.  Hayes  and  Tilden  were 
the  presidential  candidates;  but  it  was  an  off  year,  with 
no  important  question  to  arouse  the  people,  who,  gener- 
ally speaking,  were  unusually  apathetic. 

It  happened  that  I  had  been  appointed  member  of  the 
state  central  committee  for  the  district  and  this  fight,  so 
far  as  the  committee  was  concerned,  fell  to  my  charge. 
The  other  members  of  the  committee  were  very  much  wor- 
ried lest  the  contest  between  the  two  Republicans  would 
so  divide  the  votes  that  Farnsworth  would  have  a  major- 
ity over  either.  They  urged  the  withdrawal  of  one  or  the 
other,  they  didn't  care  which.  But  neither  was  disposed 
to  give  way  to  the  other;  and  I  contended  that  it  would 
be  better  to  keep  both  in  the  field,  because  each  would 
make  a  desperate  effort  to  beat  the  other  and  thus  bring 
out  all  the  Republican  votes,  and  some  from  Democrats 
locally  interested,  while  if  either  withdrew  the  bitterness 


Recollections  1837—1910  203 

of  feeling  aroused  between  the  factions  would  prevent 
his  followers  from  voting  for  the  other  and  cause  many 
of  them  to  turn  to  Farnsworth,  who,  as  an  old-time  Re- 
publican and  union  general  with  good  record,  had  many 
Republican  friends  in  the  district. 

It  was  one  of  the  few  times  in  which  my  judgment  on 
a  matter  of  importance  proved  to  be  sound.  We  had  a 
mighty  lively  campaign,  the  liveliest  in  the  state.  Lathrop 
won  out  by  a  good  majority,  and  what  was  of  more  im- 
portance to  the  party,  the  contest  saved  Cullom  and  beat 
my  old  friend  and  business  associate,  Steward,  for  the 
former  got  the  votes  that  had  been  divided  between  La- 
throp and  Hurlbut,  which  votes  taken  together  gave  an 
old  fashioned  majority  to  the  banner  district  and  pulled 
him  just  out  of  the  reach  of  his  opponent.  As  many  will 
remember  the  vote  in  the  state  was  very  close ;  if  it  had 
been  a  little  closer  we  would  have  had  some  nasty  con- 
tests in  southern  districts  where  our  side  had  won  by 
adopting  Democratic  methods,  as  we  would  say. 

While  serving  on  this  committee  I  met  a  good  many 
prominent  people,  the  frequent  meeting  with  two  of  whom, 
Senator  Logan  and  Gen.  Hurlbut,  greatly  increased  my 
respect  for  them.  Senator  Logan  spent  a  good  deal  of 
time  at  headquarters,  coming  over  there  to  meet  and 
visit  with  friends.  He  seldom  volunteered  any  advice 
to  the  committee  and  when  advice  was  sought  of  him  he 
gave  it  without  any  assumption  of  authority.  He  was 
very  companionable,  frank,  genial  and  unassuming. 

I  had  known  Gen.  Hurlbut  many  years  but  had  never 
become  closely  acquainted  with  him.  I  was  a  member  of 
the  committee  and  was  supporting  Lathrop  in  the  con- 
test ;  so  Hurlbnt  and  I  met  in  the  committee  room  as  po- 


204  Recollections  1837—1910 

litical  opponents,  but  he  was  always  as  friendly  as  if  we 
were  working  together.  He  discussed  the  difficulties  and 
disagreeable  features  of  the  situation  fairly  and  frankly. 
He  was  the  party  most  aggrieved  yet  he  complained  the 
least.  We  became  very  good  friends  and  later  did  some 
political  work  together.  He  was  of  an  open  and  generous 
nature.  We  maintained  occasional  correspondence  until 
his  death  at  Lima,  Peru,  where  he  was  U.  S.  minister. 
His  last  letter  reached  me  a  considerable  time  after  the 
notice  of  his  death  had  been  published. 

Hon.  Lewis  Steward,  of  Piano,  was  a  man  of  great 
natural  ability  and  of  wide  information.  He  was  notably 
hospitable  and  kept  open  house,  not  only  for  his  friends 
but  for  the  "stranger  at  the  gate,"  if  deemed  worthy, 
and  especially  for  any  person  prominent  in  literature,  poli- 
tics or  religion.  Occasionally  he  would  invite  me  over  to 
meet  some  notable  whom  he  was  to  entertain. 

Some  time  during  the  "seventies" — I  forget  the  year — 
Mr.  Steward  notified  me  that  Senor  Zamacona,  Mexican 
minister  or  commissioner  of  agriculture,  would  be  out  to 
Piano  to  go  through  the  harvester  works  and  to  look  over 
his  and  other  farms  in  the  neighborhood.  I  joined  them 
duly.  The  Senor  was  a  fine  specimen  of  the  Spanish- 
Mexican  gentleman;  a  thoroughbred  with  courtly  man- 
ners, tall,  spare  and  high- featured.  He  spoke  English 
fluently.  He  was  up  here  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
some  practical  knowledge  of  our  improved  agricultural 
methods,  and  of  interesting  capitalists  in  an  international 
railway  project  that  he  and  General  John  C.  Fremont 
were  promoting.  From  Piano  he  was  going  to  Chicago  to 
meet  the  general  and  in  the  evening  to  give  an  address, 
on  Mexican  resources  and  the  advantages  of  closer  con- 


Recollections  1837—1910  205 

nections  between  the  countries,  to  a  called  meeting  of 
prominent  citizens.  Being  desirous  of  seeing  General  Fre- 
mont, for  whom  as  first  Republican  nominee  for  the  pres- 
idency I  had  cast  my  first  vote,  I  went  in  with  them. 

Senor  Zamacona  came  to  the  hall  accompanied  by  the 
general  and  his  wife,  Jessie  Benton  Fremont.  The  audi- 
ence was  disappointingly  small,  but  the  Senor  gave  an 
interesting  and  apparently  satisfactory  address.  After  its 
close  an  informal  reception  was  held,  and  all  who  wished 
were  presented  to  the  Fremonts.  They  were  a  handsome 
couple.  He  was  rather  reserved,  his  manner  giving  us 
the  impression  that  his  many  disappointments  had  sad- 
dened or  soured  him;  but  she  was  as  chatty  and  lively 
as  a  girl,  though  her  hair  was  white  as  snow.  Their 
lives  had  been  full  of  romance  and  adventure,  of  suc- 
cess and  failure.  When  he  was  running  for  the  presi- 
dency they  were  the  most  popular  couple  in  the  United 
States,  he  on  account  of  his  great  services  and  perilous  ad- 
ventures while  exploring  in  the  far  west,  which  obtained 
for  him  the  title  of  "Pathfinder,"  and  she,  because  of 
their  love  story  and  her  devotion  to  him.  But  their  day 
had  passed,  and  at  the  time  of  this  meeting  there  were 
few  to  do  them  reverence. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

OPERATIONS  OF  SYCAMORE   MARSH    HARVESTER   MFG.   CO. — 

SALE  TO  E AND   CO. VALUES  AT  TIME  OF  SALE — 

PROPOSED     PURCHASE    OF    WESTERN     LANDS — FAILURE 

OF    E AND    CO.    AND    OF    HARVESTER    COMPANY — 

VALUES  AT  TIME  OF  FAILURE — OUR  SETTLEMENT  FOR 
HARVESTER  COMPANY ADVERSE  CONDITIONS  FOLLOW- 
ING SETTLEMENT — AUTOMATIC  BINDERS  TAKE  THE 
TRADE OUR  EFFORTS  TO  PRODUCE  A  BINDER. 

AS  I  have  previously  stated,  the  Marsh  Harvester 
Manufacturing  Company  at  Sycamore  was  organ- 
ized in  1869,  mainly  for  the  purpose  of  making 
harvesters  for  territory,  mostly  west  of  the  Missouri  river, 
not  licensed  to  Easter  &  Gammon.  It  was  a  broad  terri- 
tory, but  at  that  time  thinly  settled  and  its  farmers  were 
poor.  Later,  during  the  first  half  of  the  "seventies,"  it 
suffered  much  from  drouth  and  grasshoppers.  Under 
the  conditions  the  demand  for  harvesters  was  not  suffi- 
cient to  keep  the  shops  running  steadily  and  advantage- 
ously; and  the  efforts  in  other  lines  had  not  much  im- 
proved the  situation.  The  necessity  for  larger  produc- 
tion was  evident  to  both  stockholders  and  citizens;  so, 
when  in  the  fall  of  1875  the  company  obtained  a  big 

manufacturing  contract  from  E &  Co.,  of  Chicago, 

for  machines  for  the  harvest  of  1876,  there  was  great 
rejoicing  in  town,  because  it  meant  that  the  shops  would 
be  run  to  full  capacity  and  with  a  much  larger  number 
of  operatives.  During  the  year  following  business  was 
lively  in  Sycamore. 

206 


Recollections  1837—1910  207 

In  the  fall  of  1876  E &  Co.  refused  to  make  a 

contract  for  the  next  year,  but  offered  instead  to  pur- 
chase a  controlling  interest  in  the  works,  with  stated 
purpose  of  having  all  the  harvesters  for  their  territory 
made  there.  This  proposition  pleased  all  parties — citi- 
zens, stockholders  and  ourselves,  because  it  promised  con- 
tinuous and  greatly  enlarged  operations,  more  econom- 
ical manufacture,  and  relief  to  my  brother  and  me  from 
the  burdens  and  responsibilities  of  the  business.  We  were 
constantly  urged  to  make  a  deal  with  them  if  possible, 
which  we  really  were  anxious  to  do  as  the  withdrawal 
of  their  work,  for  which  capacity  of  the  shops  had  been 
increased,  would  leave  conditions  worse  than  before.  Af- 
ter considerable  negotiation  an  arrangement  was  made 
between  the  two  concerns  which  I  will  duly  set  forth. 

The  Sycamore  Marsh  Harvester  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany was  incorporated  under  a  special  charter  which  gave 
the  concern  privileges  not  allowed  by  the  general  law  en- 
acted later.  According  to  agreement  with  certain  lead- 
ing citizens  of  Sycamore,  who  had  the  matter  in  charge, 
and  ourselves,  they  were  first  to  subscribe  or  furnish  paid 
up  subscriptions  to  the  amount  of  $30,000,  then  to  credit 
us  with  $30,000  on  the  subscription  lists  as  bonus  for  lo- 
cating in  Sycamore,  and  thereafter  subscriptions  and  pay- 
ments were  to  be  equal  between  them  and  us  until  the 
list  would  reach  $100,000.  In  this  way  it  was  raised  to 
$78,000,  but  could  get  no  farther.  We  then  offered  to 
furnish  capital  up  to  the  $100,000,  or  more  if  needed, 
charging  interest  on  our  advances.  Upon  this  proposi- 
tion the  company  was  fully  organized  and  work  began. 
Our. bonus  was  the  water  in  the  stock  and  its  value  de- 
pended entirely  upon  our  success.  For  every  dollar  the 


208  Recollections  1837—1910 

Sycamore  people  paid  they  received  a  dollar  in  stock,  on 
which,  after  the  first  year,  10  per  cent  annual  dividends 
were  paid  down  to  1876. 

To  get  a  controlling  interest  E &  Co.  obtained  op- 
tions at  $200  for  $100  of  stock  from  all  of  the  citizen 
holders  who  would  sell  at  that  rate  and  from  us  enough 
more  to  give  them  a  small  majority.  This  purchase  hav- 
ing been  accomplished  the  company  was  reorganized, 
November  7,  and  capital  stock  raised  to  $200,000,  E— 
&  Co.  and  the  remaining  holders  taking  their  propor- 
tionate shares  of  the  $122,000  new  stock.  E &  Co. 

were  to  have  full  possession  and  management  on  and  af- 
ter January  1,  1877 ;  but  the  business  of  the  two  concerns 
was  to  be  kept  separate — excepting  the  manufacturing 
part,  which  was  to  be  joint — each  to  supply  its  share,  as 
estimated,  of  current  requirements  and  each  to  make  def- 
inite payments  for  machines  taken  for  its  territory  at  the 
end  of  season  when  full  cost  could  be  determined.  All 
this  I  have  given  from  memory,  because  the  record  book 
of  the  harvester  company  has  been  lost  or  mislaid. 

The  balance  sheet  of  the  company,  drawn  off  by  A.  M. 

Stark,  its  secretary,  and  M.  E.  H ,  book-keeper  for 

E &  Co.,  December  6,  1876,  showed  that  the  aggre- 
gate value  of  the  assets  at  cost  prices  was  $592,352.34, 
and  the  amount  of  the  debts  was  $121,503.62,  assets  in 
excess  of  debts  being  $470,848.72 ;  but  putting  in  the  cap- 
ital stock,  $200,000,  as  a  liability  the  net  surplus  would  be 
$270,848.72.  Our  advances  and  payments  for  the  com- 
pany covered  nearly  all  its  indebtedness  at  that  time.  As- 
suming that  the  assets  might  shrink  considerably  we  had 
made  a  fine  record  for  the  concern,  considering  the  small 
capital  and  limited  territory ;  and  it  was  a  decidedly  clean 


Recollections  1837—1910  209 

piece  of  manufacturing  property  when  turned  over  to 
E &  Co. 

This  deal  with  E &  Co.  was  the  fatal  mistake  of 

our  business  lives,  for,  besides  the  losses  we  sustained 
through  their  failure,  and  the  consequent  failure  and 
our  attempted  redemption  of  the  harvester  company,  it  led 
or  forced  us  to  take  chances  later  that  completed  our  ruin. 
The  people  of  Sycamore  did  not  charge  us  with  being 
foolish  or  reckless  at  the  time  of  making  this  deal ;  they 
were  highly  pleased  with  it,  and  generally  the  transaction 
was  regarded  as  one  that  would  be  mutually  beneficial. 

Mr.  F ,  the  financial  man  of  E &  Co.,  assured  us 

that  they  were  worth  $400,000 ;  their  credit  was  good  at 
the  First  National  and  other  banks  in  Chicago;  their 
dealings  with  us  had  always  been  satisfactory ;  their  busi- 
ness, we  knew,  was  profitable  if  properly  managed,  and 
it  ought  to  be  more  profitable  when  they  could  get  their 
machines  at  cost  of  making.  They  had  also  contracted 
with  Gammon  &  Deering  for  the  output  of  the  Piano 
factory  and  for  their  territory  in  which  to  place  such 
output.  In  short,  the  good  credit  of  E &  Co.  en- 
abled them  to  obtain  full  control  of  the  Marsh  harvester 
trade  for  the  year  1877. 

Because  of  falling  prices  and  of  the  uncertainties  at- 
tendant upon  the  approach  of  specie  resumption — which 
under  the  act  of  1875  was  to  take  effect  January  1,  1879 

— business  was  decidedly  dull  in  1877.  E &  Co.  had 

made  preparations  for  a  big  trade ;  but  as  the  season  ad- 
vanced it  became  evident  that  the  demand  would  be  un- 
usually light  and  that  they  would  be  heavily  overloaded. 
We  knew  that  they  were  having  a  hard  struggle  and  were 
leaning  too  much  upon  the  harvester  company ;  but  what 

15 


210  Recollections  1837—1910 

could  we  do?  They  had  control,  were  making  a  strong 
and  apparently  successful  fight  to  pull  through,  and  any 
interruption  of  their  plans  might  precipitate  a  disaster. 
As  president  of  the  company  I  occasionally  enjoined  Mr. 

F against  endangering  it  by  too  much  complication 

with  their  affairs,  which  he  promised  not  to  do.  So  we 
awaited  the  time  for  annual  reports  and  settlements. 

Meanwhile  we  had  been  taking  a  rest.  We  had  also 
been  looking  up  western  lands,  of  which  at  that  time  there 
were  plenty  to  be  had  cheap,  with  intention  to  invest 
largely  therein  with  moneys  coming  from  patent  licenses, 

and  from  the  harvester  company  and  E &  Co.  at 

the  end  of  the  season.  In  York  county,  Nebraska,  we 
found  plenty  of  school  lands  that  could  be  bought  at 
from  $3  to  $4  per  acre.  And  later  we  learned  that  the 
unsold  lands  in  Republic  and  Jewell  counties,  Kansas,  and 
in  Thayer  and  Nuckolls  counties,  Nebraska,  of  a  railway 
company,  had  to  be  disposed  of  by  sale  in  New  York  City 
on  or  before  an  early  date.  On  investigation  we  found 
that  the  title  was  good  and  the  price  very  low;  so  low 
that  we  concluded  to  take  as  many  of  them  as  we  could 
get.  We  sent  a  man  out  with  descriptive  lists  to  locate 
and  select.  He  reported  favorably  on  about  30,000  acres. 
These  we  proposed  to  buy.  Just  then  came  the  crash ; 
E &  Co.  failed  and  dragged  down  the  harvester  com- 
pany. In  consequence  we  had  to  give  up  any  large  pur- 
chase of  lands ;  but  a  little  before  they  were  closed  out 
in  New  York,  we,  in  connection  with  Mr.  Bosworth,  of 
Elgin,  sent  down  and  bought  between  7,000  and  8,000 
acres  at  a  cost,  including  every  expense,  of  $1.56  per 
acre.  Two  or  three  years  later  they  were  sold  for  $6  to 
$10  per  acre  and  now  they  are  worth  from  $25  to  $75. 


Recollections  1837—1910  211 

The  failure  of  E &  Co.  occurred  December  12, 

1877,  and  the  harvester  company  made  an  assignment 
two  days  later.  The  statement  then  drawn  from  the  books 
by  the  assignee,  Mr.  Stark,  showed  that,  though  over 
$140,000  had  been  collected  from  the  company's  farmers' 

notes  during  the  year  under  the  E administration, 

its  direct  liabilities  had  been  increased  from  $121,503.62 
to  $410,021.79,  besides  a  large  amount,  not  definitely 
known,  of  indirect  liability  on  account  of  the  use  of  its 
name  for  the  benefit  of  E &  Co. ;  and  that  the  nom- 
inal value  of  the  company's  assets  was  $842,527.56.  Ac- 
cording to  the  statement  the  nominal  loss  during  the  sea- 
son was  only  about  $40,000;  but  a  considerable  portion 
of  these  assets  consisted  of  unsalable  or  worthless  stuff 
unloaded  upon  the  company,  and  of  farmers'  notes 

pledged  for  the  security  of  E &  Co.'s  debts,  as  also 

for  its  own.  As  usual  in  such  cases  later  developments 
largely  increased  liabilities  and  decreased  assets;  it  was 
soon  discovered  that  the  debts  of  the  company  would 
reach  about  $530,000  and  that  the  net  value  of  the  as- 
sets would  fall  far  below  the  figures  given. 

It  was  a  sickening  wreck.  I  have  never  held  Mr. 

E responsible  for  it.  He  had  been  in  poor  health  a 

long  time  and  knew  but  little  about  the  financial  affairs 
of  his  own  concern  or  of  the  harvester  company,  which 

were  wholly  under  Mr.  F 's  management.  Gammon 

&  Deering  took  over  E &  Co.'s  assets  and  settled 

with  their  unsecured  creditors  at  eleven  cents  on  the 
dollar.  At  first  the  unsecured  creditors  of  the  harvester 
company  wanted  full  payment;  but  the  development  of 
indirect  liabilities  and  the  character  of  the  assets — largely 
of  machines  and  other  stuff  widely  scattered  and  of  un- 


212  Recollections  1837—1910 

certain  value,  of  material  at  factory  valued  at  $160,000 
(three  times  as  much  as  was  needed  for  the  now  re- 
stricted business)  and  of  unnecessary  machinery — induced 
them  to  drop  to  eighty  cents  on  the  dollar,  which  they  of- 
fered to  take  in  notes  on  reasonable  time  with  the  en- 
dorsement of  C.  W.  and  W.  W.  Marsh  on  the  last  half. 
Aud  thus  settlement  was  made. 

We  wanted  to  pay  the  creditors  all  that  we  could  safely, 
and  also  to  save  the  business  to  the  stockholders  and  to 
the  city;  and  this  we  might  have  done  had  not  a  new 
element  or  condition,  the  increasing  demand  for  auto- 
matic binders,  developed  meanwhile.  We  did  not  much 
fear  the  competition  with  wire  binders,  because  of  the 
general  prejudice  against  wire,  nor  with  twine  binders, 
because  as  yet  none  had  fully  demonstrated  its  prac- 
ticability and  twine  was  too  expensive,  we  thought.  The 
year  1878  was  mostly  spent  in  settling  the  affairs  of  the 
company  and  in  locating  and  trying  to  dispose  of  its 
scattered  property.  This  proved  to  be  a  very  difficult  and 
disappointing  undertaking.  The  failure  of  the  company 
discredited  its  goods,  to  some  extent.  To  induce  agents 
to  sell  the  old  stuff  we  had  to  make  losing  concessions; 
and  if  they  were  willing  to  contract  for  new  harvesters 
they  generally  wanted  binders  also,  which  the  company 
did  not  make  and  could  not  promise. 

In  1879  our  principal  patents  and  the  licenses  expired. 
When  making  settlement  with  the  company's  creditors  we 
had  looked  forward  to  such  time  for  unrestricted  terri- 
tory and  a  larger  and  more  satisfactory  trade;  instead 
we  had  found  that  the  harvester  without  an  automatic 
binder  could  not  hold  its  place  in  the  market.  In  short 
during  these  three  years  of  mismanagement  and  mis- 


Recollections  1837—1910  213 

fortunes  the  harvester  company  had  fallen  quite  behind  its 
competitors,  was  losing  money  on  its  comparatively  small 
product  and  must  have  a  binder  for  its  harvester  or  go 
out  of  business. 

At  that  time  several  wire  binders,  attached  to  the  Marsh 
harvester  or  other  harvesters  of  that  type,  were  doing 
fair  work  and  finding  a  ready  market,  and  two  twine 
binders  were  coming  prominently  forward;  but  none  yet 
had  fully  met  all  the  requirements  so  as  to  take  the  lead 
distinctively.  The  need  of  a  binder  for  our  company  was 
/imperative,  and  that  it  ought  to  be  one  of  our  own  was 
evident;  so  we,  C.  W.  &;  W.  W.  Marsh,  employed  in- 
ventors whose  devices  seemed  to  be  promising,  and  spent 
our  money  freely  in  various  efforts  to  produce  a  prac- 
tical binder.  Meantime  the  company  purchased  wire 
binders  from  the  Deering  concern  to  supply  the  most  urg- 
ent demands.  We  also  did  our  best  to  maintain  the  trade 
in  straight  harvesters  and  to  get  clean  of  the  stuff  with 
which  the  company  was  loaded  at  the  time  of  the  failure. 

The  Appleby  twine  binder  had  been  doing  so  well  in 
the  field  that  in  1878  Gammon  &  Deering  became  inter- 
ested in  it  and  took  shop  right  under  the  patents.  In 
1880  Mr.  Deering  (Mr.  Gammon  having  retired  from  the 
firm  in  1879  with  nearly  a  million  for  his  portion),  on  the 
strength  of  late  improvements  upon  this  binder,  deter- 
mined to  make  a  bold  push  for  the  trade.  He  built  and 
put  out  3,000  of  them  on  his  Marsh  harvesters.  They 
made  a  wonderfully  successful  record,  and  demonstrated 
that  a  satisfactory  automatic  harvesting  machine  had  at 
last  been  produced.  Wire  had  to  give  place  to  twine, 
and  harvesters  without  binders  could  only  be  sold  to 


214  Recollections  1837—1910 

those  who  could  not  get  twine  binders  or  were  not  able 
to  pay  their  price. 

Nearly  all  the  other  manufacturers  obtained  shop  rights 
under  the  Appleby  patents.  But  our  overburdened  com- 
pany had  no  money  for  such  investment ;  besides,  we  fool- 
ishly believed  we  were  producing  something  as  good  or 
better.  We  thought  that  we  were  too  weak  financially 
to  compete  with  the  big  concerns  on  the  same  machine, 
and  that  in  order  to  succeed  we  must  have  one  distinc- 
tively different.  Some  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  business, 
equally  impressed  by  the  necessity  of  having  machines  of 
their  own,  spent  fortunes  in  their  efforts  to  produce  them. 

As  there  always  had  been  a  prejudice  against  canvas 
carriers  on  harvesters  we  were  disposed  to  favor  Whit- 
ney's chain  carriers  for  forcing  grain  directly  from  the 
platform  to  the  binder.  His  plan  seemed  to  be  feasible. 
If  it  could  be  made  to  operate  successfully  we  could  pro- 
duce a  more  compact  and  apparently  a  much  more  dur- 
able machine  than  the  combined  harvester  and  binder, 
and  it  would  be  of  an  entirely  different  type.  As  finally 
developed  the  Marsh- Whitney  was  a  pretty  good  machine. 
It  did  beautiful  work  where  conditions  favored  it  and 
fairly  well  most  anywhere  when  handled  by  an  expert. 
After  going  through  the  harvest  of  1881  successfully 
with  several  of  them  we  fully  believed  that  it  was  suffi- 
ciently practical  to  be  put  upon  the  market,  moderately. 

The  harvester  company  had  not  yet  paid  half  of  what 
it  owed  at  time  of  failure;  its  collections  had  not  been 
sufficient  to  meet  all  claims  as  they  fell  due  and  exten- 
sions had  to  be  endorsed  by  us,  and  its  assets  had  so 
shrunken  in  value  that  it  was  doubtful  if  they  would  yield 
enough  to  pay  all  its  debts ;  so,  while  it  still  had  the  shops 


Recollections  1837—1910  215 

and  machinery,  it  had  no  capital  and  no  credit  with  which 
to  engage  in  a  new  enterprise. 

Our  losses  through  the  failures,  loans  to  the  harvester 
company  and  investment  in  its  stock,  most  of  which  we 
owned,  made  it  impossible  for  us  to  furnish  necessary 
capital. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

ORGANIZATION     OF    THE     MARSH     BINDER     MFG.     CO. THE 

MARSH-WHITNEY  BINDER UNFAVORABLE  SEASON  FOR 

INTRODUCTION — DEFECTS  OF  MACHINE — LOSSES  IN 
THE  BUSINESS — HARD  STRUGGLE — FAILURE  OF  THE 
CONCERNS — THE  MISERY  OF  IT  ALL. 

IN  view  of  all  the  conditions  we  concluded  that  we 
must  quit  manufacturing  and  wind  up  the  harvester 
company's  affairs  or  organize  a  new  company  with 
capital  sufficient  to  continue  the  business.  We  laid  the 
matter  before  Mr.  James  S.  Waterman  and  other  leading 
citizens.  After  due  consideration  it  was  determined  to 
organize  the  Marsh  Binder  Manufacturing  Company, 
with  capital  stock  of  $300,000,  to  take  over  the  shops  and 
machinery  of  the  harvester  company  and  to  furnish  means 
for  the  manufacture  of  harvesting  machines,  mainly 
Marsh- Whitney  binders. 

As  proposed  we,  C.  W.  &  W.  W.  Marsh,  subscribed 
for  more  than  half  the  stock — for  ourselves  and  for  the 
harvester  company,  which  mostly  belonged  to  us — the 
officials  of  the  harvester  company  subscribed  liberally, 
as  did  a  few  outsiders,  and  many  citizens  put  their  names 
down  for  as  much  as  their  means  would  permit.  The  ag- 
gregate amount  of  stock  taken  by  the  citizens  was  $51,- 
100,  of  which  James  S.  Waterman  took  $15,000,  R.  Ell- 
wood  $5,000,  and  William  Loomis  $5,000 ;  the  remainder, 
$26,100,  was  taken  in  small  sums  by  twenty-four  sub- 
scribers. Of  the  outsiders  I.  L.  Ellwood  took  $10,000, 

216 


James  S.  Waterman. 


Recollections  1837—1910  217 

and  C.  W.  Yale,  of  Geneva,  111.,  an  old  reaper  man, 
took  $8,000,  after  he  had  watched  the  operations  of  the 
Marsh-Whitney  binder  in  the  field  to  his  full  satisfac- 
tion. 

Really  the  cash  capital  was  small  for  such  an  under- 
taking; but  it  would  have  been  enough  to  establish  the 
business  successfully  had  the  Marsh-Whitney  binder 
been  as  good  as  it  promised  or  we  believed  it  to  be,  or 
had  we  gone  slow  on  that  and  built  standard  Marsh  har- 
vesters and  Appleby  binders  while  testing  the  other  more 
widely  and  thoroughly  in  the  hands  of  farmers.  Such 
was  our  original  intention ;  and  I  had  arranged  with  the 
owners  of  the  Appleby  patents  for  a  shop-right  license. 
But  before  the  new  company  had  been  brought  into 
working  order  these  patents  were  purchased  by  W.  N. 
Whitely,  of  Springfield,  O.,  who,  on  application  to  him 
for  license,  refused  to  grant  it  and  threatened  immediate 
proceedings  against  us  if  we  should  infringe. 

Here  is  where  we  made  a  ruinous  mistake.  We  ought 
to  have  gone  slow  in  the  shops  and  on  the  market  until 
we  had  obtained  the  verdict  of  the  trade  on  our  new  ma- 
chine, or  we  ought  to  have  built  the  standard  machines 
and  taken  our  chances  against  Whitely's  warnings.  Un- 
fortunately, as  it  proved,  we  did  neither;  we  undertook 
to  produce  a  modified  Appleby  that  might  avoid  injunc- 
tion, and  started  out  largely  with  the  Marsh- Whitney, 
enough  orders  having  come  in  to  take  all  and  more  than 
we  could  make.  Later,  Whitely  offered  to  license  us, 
but  we  were  too  far  along  in  our  work  and  too  confident. 

The  season  of  1882  was  notably  wet,  showers  were  fre- 
quent, grain  was  of  heavy  growth  and  much  tangled. 
The  harvest  was  unfavorable  to  the  introduction  of  any 


218  Recollections  1837—1910 

new  machine.  In  the  effort  to  make  ours  light,  neat  and 
compact  we  did  not  give  it  sufficient  capacity  and  strength 
for  the  abundant  straw  and  the  trying  conditions.  In 
some  localities  it  gave  good  satisfaction,  in  others  it 
failed  to  meet  requirements  or  expectations.  Several 
hundred  were  sold  and  settled  for,  some  were  retained 
by  purchasers  for  repairs  and  another  season's  trial,  and 
many  were  so  broken  that  they  had  to  be  returned  to  the 
shops.  But  the  reports  were  generally  favorable  to  the 
principles  of  the  machine  and  to  its  success  if  properly 
built.  It  was  evident  that  the  trade  wanted  a  binder 
of  that  type.  Several  manufacturers  who  had  seen  it 
work  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  would  succeed  and 
also  their  desire  to  build  it  when  perfected.  We  had 
not  done  as  well  as  we  expected;  still  we  were  not  dis- 
couraged. 

There  was  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  orders  for  our 
second  year's  product.  The  machines  were  given  greater 
capacity,  weight  and  strength;  but  1883  was  a  dry  year 
and  grain  was  so  short  and  thin  that  they  worked  as  if 
too  big  and  coarse  for  it;  the  toothed  chains  would  not 
deliver  it  in  good  shape  to  the  binder,  and  they  also 
proved  to  be  less  durable  and  more  troublesome  under 
wear  than  canvas  carriers.  A  device  was  soon  applied 
that  materially  aided  the  chains  in  their  delivery,  but  it 
came  too  late  to  be  of  much  benefit  to  the  season's  trade, 
though  it  kept  a  good  many  machines  in  farmers'  hands 
for  another  season's  trial. 

Before  the  harvest  of  1883  was  over  my  confidence 
in  the  Marsh-Whitney  machine  had  been  shaken  and  I 
feared  that  it  would  prove  a  failure.  The  modified  Ap- 
pleby  binder  on  our  harvester  had  given  us  considerable 


Recollections  1837—1910  219 

trouble,  and  the  Marsh- Whitney,  which  we  had  intended 
to  make  a  leader  and  upon  which  we  had  staked  so  much, 
apparently  could  not  be  made  good  enough  to  hold  place 
on  the  market  against  the  perfected  standard  machine. 
Besides,  the  building  of  it  was  costing  us  more  than  we 
expected,  while  the  large  manufacturers  were  reducing 
shop-cost  by  producing  in  great  quantities  and,  compet- 
ing on  the  one  style  of  machine,  were  forcing  its  price 
down  to  figures  that  would  give  small  manufacturers 
little  or  no  profit. 

If  the  machines  could  not  be  made  to  work  better  next 
harvest  there  would  be  nothing  left  for  us  to  do  but  to 
close  out  as  best  we  could.  The  situation  was  difficult 
for  us.  We  dare  not  acknowledge  our  fears  for  that 
would  bring  all  creditors  upon  us ;  in  such  case  the  large 
amount  of  stuff  we  had  for  sale  could  not  be  marketed 
and  this  property  would  be  sacrificed  to  the  damage  of  all 
concerned.  Agents  build  up  trade  on  a  machine  with 
expectation  that  it  will  be  permanent,  hence  they  are  not 
disposed  to  act  for  a  bankrupt  or  liquidating  concern. 
The  shops  must  be  kept  running  on  a  few  machines  and 
on  repairs  and  alterations  or  improvements;  but  money 
had  to  be  provided  therefor,  and  for  current  needs  and 
demands,  and  for  repairing  and  experting  the  machines 
through  the  next  harvest.  This  financial  burden  fell  on 
me;  it  was  a  heavy  and  heart-sickening  load. 

The  cash  capital  of  the  binder  company  had  been  mostly 
exhausted  in  the  manufacture  of  the  machines,  in  sup- 
plying material  and  twine  and  in  the  general  expenses 
of  the  business.  We  sold  our  stock  in  the  Sycamore 
National  Bank  and  in  the  Marsh  National  Bank  at  Lin- 
coln, Neb.,  in  this  latter  sale  taking  over  as  part  pay- 


220  Recollections  1837—1910 

ment  the  $30,000  of  stock  in  the  binder  company  that  C. 
W.  Mosher  had  subscribed  and  paid  for.  Thus  we  raised 
about  $50,000  in  cash.  With  this,  the  collections  and 
some  loans  and  help  from  stockholders,  we  kept  things 
moving  and  promptly  met  all  requirements  and  demands, 
not  only  on  account  of  the  binder  company  but  also  of 
the  harvester  company  (a  considerable  portion  of  whose 
old  debts  had  been  extended  from  time  to  time),  running 
along  quite  smoothly  down  into  the  spring  of  1884,  when 
the  Grant  &  Ward  failure  in  New  York  tightened  the 
money  market  and  made  my  burden  almost  intolerable. 
Thereafter  it  was  a  "life  and  death"  struggle,  but  I  man- 
aged to  keep  the  concern  afloat  until  machines  were  nearly 
all  placed,  repairs  made  and  delivered,  experts  engaged 
and  harvest  about  to  begin  with  a  fair  show  for  sales, 
when  the  unexpected  blow  fell.  The  attack  on  the  binder 
company  having  been  started  the  creditors  of  both  con- 
cerns came  down  upon  us  and  our  career  as  manufac- 
turers and  business  men  was  ended. 

It  was  June  30,  1884,  an  ever  memorable  day  for  us. 
No  more  opportune  time  for  the  destruction  of  the  com- 
pany and  its  property  could  have  been  selected.  Most 
of  its  machines  and  twine  and  extras  were  widely  scat- 
tered through  the  country,  in  the  hands  of  agents"  and 
farmers  or  in  transit.  With  everything  tied  up  at  the 
factory,  with  the  stain  of  bankruptcy  on  the  goods,  with 
no  money  to  pay  for  the  time  and  expense  of  experts, 
the  trade  could  not  be  saved;  agents  would  repudiate 
their  contracts  and  orders,  and  farmers  would  not  buy 
or  settle  for  what  they  had  taken  out.  The  conditions 
were  so  overwhelmingly  against  us  that  we  gave  up  the 
fight. 


Recollections  1837—1910  221 

Then  I  went  home  and  to  bed.  For  months  the  strain 
on  me  had  been  so  great  that  I  could  only  get  sleep  by 
dosing  myself  with  whiskey  and  milk.  That  night  I 
slept  without  the  usual  dose.  But  the  reaction  pros- 
trated me.  Two  or  three  weeks  later  I  was  able  to  go 
to  the  office,  lighter  then  and  ever  since  by  more  than 
thirty  pounds.  While  ill  at  home  I  had  been  selected 
for  assignee  of  the  binder  company  by  its  creditors. 
The  book-keepers  had  prepared  statements  of  the  affairs 
of  the  three  concerns — harvester  company,  binder  com- 
pany and  C.  W.  &  W.  W.  Marsh.  The  wrecks  had  been 
complete.  Only  the  binder  company  had  made  an  as- 
signment. The  harvester  company  had  been  ruined  by 
the  E &  Co.  failures,  the  binder  company  by  manu- 
facturing inferior  machines  and  C.  W.  &  W.  W.  Marsh 
by  trying  to  uphold  both. 

Examination  of  the  binder  company's  statement  showed, 
excluding  capital  stock,  that  there  was  a  considerable 
margin  of  assets  at  cost  or  face  value  over  liabilities; 
but  they  consisted  of  shops,  machinery,  material,  un- 
finished parts  and  extras  for  binders,  etc. — useless  un- 
less manufacture  were  continued;  of  margins  on  farmers' 
notes  deposited  as  collateral  at  banks — to  be  wiped  out 
by  expenses  and  losses  in  collection;  and  of  machines, 
twine,  etc.,  at  factory  or  distributed,  of  cost  value  about 
$140,000 — substantially  worthless,  because  unsalable  for 
want  of  necessary  attention  and  of  the  repairs  and  im- 
provements that  had  been  provided  but  not  applied,  lack- 
ing which  agents  had  generally  abandoned  them.  In  sev- 
eral instances  they  had  refused  to  pay  freight  on  car- 
loads ordered. 

The   factory   and  all  the  stuff  at  home  were  under 


222  Recollections  1837—1910 

execution,  while  the  goods  distributed,  upon  which  only 
I  could  administer  as  assignee,  could  not  be  disposed 
of  for  the  reasons  given.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  during 
that  season  and  the  next  I  realized  from  the  stuff,  above 
expenses  of  trying  to  market  it,  only  enough  to  pay  my 
self-imposed  salary  of  $100  per  month  and  three-quarters 
of  the  dues  to  the  workmen,  the  preferred  creditors,  then 
I  turned  over  some  notes  to  their  selected  trustee  and 
gave  up  the  job,  because  I  must  do  something  better 
for  myself  and  family. 

The  harvester  company's  assets  paid  most  of  its  debts ; 
but  C.  W.  &  W.  W.  Marsh  went  out  with  absolutely 

nothing  and  worse.     Their  losses  through  E &  Co., 

the  harvester  company  and  the  binder  company  ( in  which 
latter  concern  they  had  put  more  than  $235,000,  counting 
their  investments  in  its  capital  stock  and  their  cash  ad- 
vances) had  absorbed  all  their  property  and  besides  they 
were  endorsers  for  many  thousands  on  unpaid  notes  of 
the  two  companies.  They  withheld  nothing  from  the 
creditors,  but  handed  out  their  notes,  accounts  and  claims 
to  the  last  dollar.  Seven  years  before  they  were  worth 
more  than  $400,000,  with  land  deals  in  negotiation  and 
in  prospect  that  would  have  made  them  millionaires  in 
a  few  years,  with  large  annual  receipts  and  court  awards 
anticipated,  from  their  patents,  and  they  owed  nothing 
that  they  could  not  pay  on  demand  by  a  check.  Now, 
when  past  middle  age,  they  were  penniless  and  their 
credit  as  business  men  destroyed.  They  would  have  been 
left  without  homes  had  not  their  wives  kept  the  few 
thousands  of  their  own  from  being  drawn  into  the  vor- 
tex. Our  mental  sufferings  may  be  imagined.  As  for 
me  I  felt  worse  over  the  losses  of  others  than  of  my 


Recollections  1837—1910  223 

own.  I  did  not  worry  about  my  future,  not  doubting 
my  ability  to  make  a  living;  but  the  loss  of  business 
friendships  and  associations  and  of  the  respect  that  at- 
tends success  hurt  me  most.  Pity  was  as  offensive  as 
contempt.  My  feeling  was  to  withdraw  myself  from 
everything  that  was  associated  with  our  misfortunes.  I 
hated  to  go  to  Sycamore,  to  look  upon  the  old  shops,  to 
be  reminded  of  what  had  been  and  of  what  might  have 
been;  and  even  now,  twenty-six  years  after,  I  seldom 
enter  the  town  without  seeing  the  ghost  of  what  was 
lost.  Yet  Sycamore's  loss  through  us,  beyond  what  some 
of  its  citizens  had  invested  in  the  stock  of  the  unfortunate 
concerns,  was  small ;  and  it  must  have  gained  much,  dur- 
ing the  fifteen  years  in  which  our  shops  were  running 
and  we  were  distributing  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dol- 
lars in  the  little  city. 

Of  course  we  made  mistakes.  Any  one  can  see  mis- 
takes when  viewing  the  consequences.  We  ought  not 
to  have  undertaken  to  manufacture  at  Sycamore  with  so 
little  experience  and  capital  and  territory.  We  ought 
not  to  have  sold  to  E &  Co.  without  better  guaran- 
tees as  to  their  ability  and  responsibility.  Yet  where 
could  we  obtain  them?  We  ought  not  to  have  endorsed 
the  harvester  company's  composition  paper ;  but  it  would 
have  gone  to  pieces  then  if  we  hadn't.  We  ought  to  have 
built  straight  harvesters  and  Appleby  binders,  license  or 
no  license;  but  all  the  small  harvester  concerns  and  some 
of  the  big  ones  have  gone  to  the  wall  since,  have  failed 
or  wound  up  or  been  merged  in  the  "harvester  trust," 
because  of  competition  on  one  style  of  machine.  We 
feared  this  result,  as  did  others  wiser  and  more  experi- 
enced. D.  M.  Osborne  lost  more  than  twice  as  much  as 


224:  Recollections  1837—1910 

we,  and  shortened  his  life  in  his  unsuccessful  efforts  to 
develop  a  binder  of  his  own.  Lewis  Miller,  founder  of 
the  "Buckeye"  business,  spent  a  fortune  on  his  low-down 
binder,  failed  and  died  poor.  W.  N.  Whitely,  founder  of 
the  "Champion"  business,  wasted  over  $100,000  on  his 
"Strasburg  clock"  machine  before  he  bought  the  Appleby 
patents.  Like  efforts  on  the  part  of  J.  F.  Seiberling  hast- 
ened his  failure.  None  of  them  came  so  near  to  success  as 
we  did.  Had  we  finally  succeeded,  it  would  have  been 
hailed  as  a  brilliant  achievement,  but  failing,  it  was  a 
foolish  and  reckless  venture. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

! 

NATIONAL    REPUBLICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1880 ILLINOIS 

CONTESTING  DELEGATIONS DISTRICT  REPRESENTATION 

ESTABLISHED — GRANT  AND  ELAINE  CONTEST — LOGAN 
AND  CONKLING  FOR  GRANT — SIX  DAYS'  STRUGGLE — 
GARFIELD  WON  NOMINATION  FAIRLY — NOTHING  SAID 

ABOUT   PROTECTION HIGH     TARIFF     POLICY     ADOPTED 

LATER. 

THE  National  Republican  convention,  held  in  Chi- 
cago from  June  2  to  8,  1880,  was  an  important 
event  in  the  political  history  of  the  Republican 
party.  It  was  the  culmination  of  the  memorable  contest 
between  Grant  and  Elaine  for  the  presidential  nomina- 
tion, in  which  both  were  defeated  and  Garfield  was  chosen, 
and  it  settled  the  question  of  representation  in  future  na- 
tional conventions  by  declaring  that  thereafter  a  congres- 
sional district  should  be  the  unit,  in  other  words,  that 
the  people  of  such  district  should  have  the  right  to  select 
their  own  delegates.  The  contest  was  fierce  and  Illinois 
was  the  storm  center. 

The  majority  of  the  Republicans  in  the  southern  and 
central  parts  of  the  state,  led  by  Senator  Logan,  were 
for  Grant;  while  in  the  northern  part  they  were  about 
equally  divided  between  Grant,  Elaine  and  Washburne. 
The  state  central  committee,  with  A.  M.  Jones  ("Long" 
Jones)  at  the  head,  was  for  Grant.  In  the  selection  of 
delegates  for  the  state  convention,  to  be  held  at  Spring- 
field, May  19,  the  Cook  county  convention  broke  up  in 

16  225 


226  Recollections  1837—1910 

a  row  and  two  sets  of  delegates  were  appointed.  This 
put  the  first  three  congressional  districts  in  a  contest  for 
seats  in  the  state  convention  and  left  the  Grant  dele- 
gates from  other  parts  of  the  state  in  control  of  its  or- 
ganization. Our  old  fourth  district,  comprising  Kane, 
DeKalb,  McHenry,  Boone  and  Winnebago  counties,  was 
divided  as  follows:  DeKalb,  McHenry  and  Boone  were 
for  Blaine,  Winnebago  was  for  Grant,  and  Kane  was 
mixed;  the  Blaine  delegates  being  largely  in  the  major- 
ity. I  was  one  of  the  delegates  from  DeKalb  county. 
I  may  here  remark  that  our  opposition  to  General  Grant 
was  not  personal,  but  was  due  to  sentiment  against  a 
third  term  and  disposition  to  give  Blaine  his  turn. 

Upon  the  opening  of  the  convention  we  found  that 
the  state  central  committee  had  given  seats  to  the  Grant 
delegates  appointed  by  the  bolting  part  of  the  Cook 
county  convention,  and  that  the  Grant  forces  were  in 
the  saddle,  apparently  determined  to  override  all  prece- 
dents and  to  deliver  a  solid  state  delegation  to  their 
candidate.  When  notices  were  posted  by  the  state  cen- 
tral committee,  advising  the  delegates  from  congres- 
sional districts  of  the  places  and  purposes  of  their  meet- 
ings, we  discovered  that  selection  of  delegates  to  the  na- 
tional convention  had  been  omitted. 

As  several  of  our  delegation  were  standing  before  the 
notice  and  discussing  the  omission,  Judge  Coon,  the  late 
A.  B.  Coon,  of  Marengo,  came  to  us.  I  asked  the  old 
gentleman  what  ought  we  to  do  in  this  case  and  he  an- 
swered, "Why,  damn  'em,  they  don't  intend  to  let  us 
select  our  own  delegates.  The  thing  for  you  to  do  is  to 
go  right  ahead,  nominate  your  men  as  we  have  always 
done,  send  their  names  in  and  then  we'll  see  what  they 


Recollections  1837 — 1910  227 

are  going  to  do  about  it."  We  acted  on  this  advice. 
Two  delegates  to  the  national  convention  and  their  al- 
ternates were  duly  selected.  As  the  first  three  districts 
were  in  contest  the  fourth  was  the  first  on  call;  it  was 
therefore  the  first  to  report,  to  present  the  names  of  its 
delegates  with  those  selected  for  committees.  The  other 
anti-Grant  district  delegations  followed  suit ;  some  hav- 
ing selected  their  men  as  we  had,  while  others  seeing 
the  point  of  our  action,  immediately  withdrew  into  the 
hall  or  lobby  and  there  hastily  chose  their  delegates.  But 
the  convention,  being  under  control  of  the  Grant  major- 
ity, refused  to  give  a  hearing  to  such  part  of  our  reports 
as  related  to  selection  of  delegates  and  through  a  com- 
mittee named  by  the  chair  appointed  Grant  men  to  repre- 
sent our  districts  in  the  national  convention.  This  was 
the  action  from  which  we  appealed  to  the  national  con- 
vention. 

The  national  convention  assembled  June  2  in  the  hall 
of  the  old  Inter-State  Exposition  building.  As  the  dele- 
gates appointed  by  committee  at  the  state  convention  had 
the  credentials  they  were  admitted  to  seats  in  the  hall, 
while  the  contestants  had  to  await  the  action  of  the  con- 
vention on  their  appeal.  (I  have  forgotten  to  say  that 
I  was  one  of  the  contestants,  as  a  selected  delegate  from 
the  fourth  district).  There  were  contests  from  several 
states,  but  that  of  Illinois  was  by  far  the  most  important 
because  the  admission  of  the  contestants  would  make  a 
big  break  into  Grant's  solid  delegation  from  the  state 
convention  and,  besides  the  loss  of  the  votes,  would 
greatly  impair  his  prestige  as  a  candidate.  This  the 
managers  of  the  interests  of  the  other  candidates  fully 
appreciated,  and  it  gave  us  contestants  unusually  good 


228  Recollections  1837—1910 

opportunities  to  become  acquainted  with  some  of  the 
most  prominent  men  in  the  country. 

We,  who  were  for  Elaine,  were  particularly  welcome 
at  the  Elaine  headquarters.  There  we  frequently  met 
Hannibal  Hamlin,  a  right  jolly  old  gentleman;  Eugene 
Hale,  very  nice  but  rather  stiff ;  Wm.  P.  Frye,  frank  and 
friendly;  Wm.  E.  Chandler,  nervous,  sarcastic  and  ad- 
dicted to  very  strong  language ;  Creed  Haymond,  of  Cal- 
ifornia, of  chivalrous  bearing  but  somewhat  stilted ;  James 
F.  Joy  ("]im"  Joy),  a  noted  railway  magnate  of  that 
period;  Senator  O.  D.  Conger,  of  Michigan,  tall  and 
dark,  sleek  and  ministerial,  and  the  shrewdest  manager 
of  them  all ;  and  many  others. 

There  were  six  candidates,  Grant,  Elaine,  Sherman, 
Edmunds,  Windom  and  Washburne.  Grant  was  con- 
siderably in  the  lead,  hence  the  disposition  of  the  others 
was  to  mass  against  him,  and  as  the  combined  votes  of 
their  delegations  exceeded  his,  they  were  able  to  control 
the  organization,  the  appointment  of  committees,  etc. 
Senator  Hoar  of  Massachusetts,  an  Edmunds  delegate, 
was  made  chairman. 

Logan  and  Conkling  led  the  Grant  forces  and  they  made 
a  desperate  fight  for  his  nomination.  Logan  was  much 
the  better  manager.  He  was  alert  to  all  the  movements 
and  prompt  in  action,  but  not  at  all  dictatorial.  His 
speech  and  manner  indicated  that  though  he  was  deter- 
mined to  win  and  would  stand  by  his  guns  to  the  last, 
giving  shot  for  shot,  yet  he  was  not  disposed  to  wound 
unnecessarily.  Conkling,  on  the  contrary,  though  alert 
and  ready  as  Logan,  was  offensively  arrogant.  He  seemed 
to  be  in  a  quarrelsome  mood  and  on  the  watch  for  op- 
portunities to  make  sarcastic  and  irritating  remarks.  All 


Recollections  1837—1910  229 

were  impressed  by  his  fine  appearance  and  evident  abil- 
ity, but  he  made  no  friends  and  several  enemies.  Al- 
though his  speech  nominating  Grant  was  a  splendid 
effort,  I  think  he  was  a  damage  rather  than  a  help  to 
his  candidate,  because  had  he  not  so  antagonized  the 
Elaine  delegates  some  of  them  might  have  gone  over 
to  Grant  when  the  break  towards  Garfield  began.  Ros- 
coe  Conkling  was  a  handsome  man,  tall,  straight  and 
broad-shouldered,  an  able  and  well  trained  orator;  but 
he  was  also,  as  Elaine  described  him,  a  good  deal  of  a 
turkey  cock. 

The  committee  on  credentials,  with  Senator  Conger 
as  its  chairman,  reported  in  favor  of  the  Illinois  con- 
testants, excepting  the  second  district.  Of  course  the 
Grant  leaders  strongly  opposed  the  report,  which,  after 
a  lengthy  discussion,  was  adopted  by  the  convention. 
These  contests  occupied  the  attention  of  the  convention 
until  Saturday,  its  fourth  day,  when  we  contestants  were 
admitted  as  legitimate  delegates.  That  the  decision  in 
our  favor  was  based  more  on  its  merits  than  on  the  po- 
litical interests  of  the  majority,  is  evidenced  by  the  ac- 
tion, immediately  following,  of  the  convention  in  adopting 
congressional  district  representation  as  the  rule  thereaf- 
ter. Later  the  Democratic  party  adopted  the  same  rule, 
as  did  other  parties;  so- our  contest,  in  which  this  dis- 
trict took  the  lead,  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  a 
general  rule  in  accordance  with  our  contention.  Chicago 
newspapers  gave  Herman  Raster,  then  editor  of  the  Staats 
Zeitung,  credit  for  having  suggested  the  initiatory  action 
taken  at  the  state  convention.  Anyhow  we  led  off  un- 
der the  advice  of  Judge  Coon,  though  later  we  under- 


230  Recollections  1837—1910 

stood  that  Mr.  Raster  was  advising  other  district  dele- 
gations to  do  as  we  had  done. 

The  nominations  and  nominating  speeches  were  made 
in  the  Saturday  night  session,  which  lasted  until  nearly 
midnight.  Mr.  Joy  presented  the  name  of  Elaine  in  a 
short  sensible  speech.  Conkling  made  his  famous  "Ap- 
pomattox  apple  tree"  speech  in  nominating  Grant,  and 
Garfield  spoke  for  Sherman.  The  other  nominating  and 
the  seconding  speeches  were  generally  good.  The  great 
hall  was  crowded  with  enthusiastic  partisans  who  howled 
themselves  hoarse  as  the  names  of  their  favorites  were 
presented. 

Garfield's  nominating  speech  was  the  best  of  any  de- 
livered during  the  entire  course  of  the  convention.  It 
was  strong,  dispassionate  and  conciliatory,  but  beautiful 
in  word  and  sentiment  and  classic  in  its  well  rounded 
periods.  The  wonder  of  it  was  that  he  could  make  such 
a  soul-stirring  plea  for  so  cold  a  subject  as  John  Sher- 
man. He  has  been  accused  of  betraying  Sherman  be- 
cause he  did  not  run  away  from  the  votes  given  him. 
Sherman  had  not  a  ghost  of  a  chance  in  that  convention. 
Through  its  long  and  stormy  course  Garfield  had  been 
steadily  winning  friends  by  his  sensible  suggestions  and 
by  his  success  as  a  peacemaker.  His  timely  interference 
extricated  the  convention  from  the  dangerous  dilemma 
into  which  Conkling  had  led  it,  in  his  attempt  to  oust 
three  of  the  West  Virginia  delegates.  He  was  a  man  of 
noble  presence  and  whenever  he  arose  to  speak  he  com- 
manded full  and  interested  attention. 

Balloting  for  presidential  nominees  did  not  begin  un- 
til Monday,  the  fifth  day  of  the  convention.  The  num- 
ber of  delegates  was  756,  of  whose  votes  on  first  ballot 


Recollections  1837—1910  231 

Grant  received  304,  Elaine  284,  and  Sherman  93,  the 
other  votes  being  divided  between  Edmunds,  Washburne 
and  Windom.  On  second  ballot  the  number  of  Grant 
voters  was  305,  "the  immortal  305,"  the  "old  guard" 
whom  he  held  to  the  end.  Twenty-eight  ballots  were 
taken  during  the  day  and  the  evening,  with  very  little 
change,  Garfield  getting  one  steady  vote  and  two  toward 
the  close. 

During  the  afternoon  recess  several  of  us  went  over 
to  the  Elaine  headquarters  to  confer  with  the  leaders. 
We  were  shown  into  a  side  room  where  were  Hale, 
Chandler  and  others  engaged  in  discussion  of  the  situ- 
ation. Apparently  they  were  doubtful  of  Elaine's  nom- 
ination. Eighteen  ballots  had  been  taken.  Grant  had 
gained  one  steady  vote  and  Elaine  had  lost  one.  There 
was  no  indication  of  a  break  in  any  direction.  We  told 
them  that  we  and  many  others  were  ready  to  vote  for 
Garfield  whenever  it  should  appear  useless  to  vote  longer 
for  Elaine.  They  insisted  that  we  hold  on  steadily 
through  the  night  session,  as  any  break  might  throw 
enough  votes  to  Grant  for  his  nomination,  while  some- 
thing more  favorable  might  turn  up  before  next  morn- 
ing's session.  But  I  felt  sure  that  the  convention  was 
turning  toward  Garfield.  I  had  seen  it  in  the  faces  of 
the  delegates  whenever  he  spoke  or  made  a  motion,  and 
I  had  heard  it  in  their  talk.  The  Indiana  delegation, 
with  Ben.  Harrison  at  the  head,  sat  behind  us,  and  the 
Georgia  delegation,  colored,  sat  in  front ;  they  were  talk- 
ing for  Garfield.  It  was  in  the  air,  as  I  told  Editor 
Boies  on  our  way  back  from  headquarters.  In  the 
evening  session  ten  more  ballots  were  taken  with  no  ma- 
terial change  in  the  situation. 


232  Recollections  1837—1910 

The  continuous  excitement,  late  hours,  heat  in  the  hall 
and  a  bad  cold  had  nearly  prostrated  me,  and  I  had 
quite  lost  my  voice  in  trying  to  do  my  share  of  the  yelling 
in  the  convention.  Toward  the  close  of  the  evening  ses- 
sion I  concluded  to  go  home,  so  I  gave  my  place  to  the 
alternate  and  started  out  with  Judge  Robinson  for  our 
train.  As  we  were  walking  through  the  long  covered 
way  that  connected  the  hall  with  the  entrance  we  met 
Garfield.  He  stopped  us  to  inquire  about  the  balloting. 
Judge  Robinson  answered  that  there  had  been  no  change. 
As  we  stood  talking  I  felt  impelled  to  tell  him  that  most 
of  the  delegates  on  our  side  of  the  hall  were  for  him, 
that  I  was  sure  he  would  be  nominated  and  that  I  was 
ready  to  begin  the  break  if  he  approved;  but  I  didn't, 
because  I  had  lost  my  voice  and  my  vim.  Even  after 
he  had  started  on  I  hesitated  and  turned  to  follow,  when 
Robinson's  reminder  that  we  must  hurry  to  catch  the 
train  broke  the  spell.  I  went  home  and  to  bed.  Next 
day  Garfield  was  nominated.  What  an  opportunity  I  lost. 

This  Republican  convention  was  remarkable  in  that  it 
substantially  ignored  the  tariff  question,  no  reference  hav- 
ing been  made  to  it  in  the  many  speeches,  nor  in  the 
platform  except  the  following  brief  sentence :  "We  reaf- 
firm the  belief  avowed  in  1876  that  the  duties  levied  for 
the  purpose  of  revenue  should  so  discriminate  as  to  favor 
American  labor."  A  Democrat  could  subscribe  to  that 
as  cheerfully  as  a  Republican.  Neither  in  the  speeches 
of  our  leaders  nor  in  the  platform  was  the  claim  made 
that  the  prosperity  of  the  country  was  due  to  the  Repub- 
lican policy  of  tariff  protection.  Nor  was  there  a  hint 
of  warning  given  of  the  dire  evils  that  might  befall  the 
country  should  the  Democrats  win  and  attempt  to  reduce 


Recollections  1837—1910  233 

the  duties.  The  only  protection  advocated  in  the  con- 
vention was  that  of  the  negro  in  his  right  and  effort  to 
vote.  Senator  Hoar,  in  his  speech  on  taking  the  chair, 
said :  "The  Republican  party  lives  but  for  this :  That 
every  man  within  our  borders  may  dwell  secure  in  a 
happy  home  and  may  cast  and  have  counted  his  equal 
vote  and  may  send  his  child  at  the  public  charge  to  a 
free  school."  Evidently  our  leaders  then  did  not  fully 
appreciate  the  blessings  of  high  tariff,  or  how  to  use  it 
for  the  benefit  of  the  party. 

The  Republican  party  was  organized  for  the  purpose 
of  resisting  the  encroachments  of  the  slave  power.  It 
comprised  Whigs,  Democrats,  Free-Soilers,  Free-Trad- 
ers and  any  one  who  held  as  paramount  the  central  idea. 
It  controlled  the  government  during  the  war  and  enacted 
high  tariff  laws  to  produce  necessary  revenues  and  inci- 
dentally to  encourage  and  protect  infant  industries.  It 
did  not  reduce  the  rates  after  the  war  as  promised,  be- 
cause, as  it  explained,  the  national  debt  had  to  be  paid. 
It  still  maintained  high  rates,  after  this  debt  had  been 
materially  reduced,  in  order  to  encourage  the  founding 
of  new  industries  and  to  protect  those  already  estab- 
lished. In  1876  it  proposed  to  transfer  a  portion  of  the 
benefits  of  tariff  protection  to  American  labor,  and  the 
same  in  our  convention  of  1880.  Yet  our  leaders  then 
appeared  to  be  uncertain  which  would  be  the  better  pol- 
icy for  the  party,  to  put  the  duties  up  or  to  put  them 
down ;  but  during  the  canvass  that  fall  in  Indiana,  Elaine, 
in  speaking  to  large  bodies  of  workmen,  as  at  South 
Bend,  dwelt  strongly  on  the  disposition  of  our  party  to 
give  them  tariff  help.  The  men  accepted  this  talk  in 
good  faith  and  the  state  gave  a  good  Republican  ma- 


234  Recollections  1837—1910 

jority.  Apparently  this  indicated  the  direction  which  our 
leaders  should  take.  In  1884  a  strong  tariff  plank  was 
inserted  in  our  party  platform ;  and  since  then  our  tariff 
carpenters  have  been  making  these  planks  stronger  and 
generally  higher,  until  now  tariff  protection  to  producers 
is  high  and  cost  of  everything  to  consumers  is  high,  and 
belief  in  high  tariff  is  expected  of  every  orthodox  or 
high  class  Republican.  Surely  "the  goose  hangs  high." 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

VISIT  WITH  GENERAL  GRANT  AT  HOME  OF  W.  A.  TALCOTT 
AT  ROCKFORD — WHAT  HE  SAID  ABOUT  HIS  CANDIDACY 
— ABOUT  THE  MISSIONARIES — HIS  STORY  OF  HIS  NIGHT 

WITH     GEN.     CADWALADER HIS     MANY     CIGARS HIS 

FREE  AND  FRANK  TALK. 

THIRTY  years  and  more  ago  the  people  of  Winne- 
bago  county,  and  especially  of  Rockford,  took 
great  pride  and  interest  in  their  county  fair.  The 
naturally  beautiful  grounds  were  well  kept,  attractive  ex- 
hibits were  sought,  and  distinguished  speakers  were  ob- 
tained for  the  opening  services.  Whether  or  not  the 
great  expositions  have  weakened  interest  in  this  fair,  as 
in  most  other  county  fairs,  I  do  not  know. 

Winnebago  county  had  gone  strongly  for  Grant  in  the 
contest  for  presidential  nomination  in  1880 ;  so  natur- 
ally the  managers  of  the  fair  that  fall  turned  to  him  as 
the  most  distinguished  and  attractive  personage  whom 
they  might  get  for  the  opening  of  their  exhibition.  The 
general,  who  was  then  living  at  Galena,  his  old  home, 
responded  favorably  to  their  request.  It  was  arranged 
that  he  and  Mrs.  Grant  should  come  down  to  Rockford 
the  day  before  the  opening,  where  they  were  to  be  enter- 
tained at  the  spacious  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  A.  Tal- 
cott,  who  would  give  a  reception  in  their  honor  that 
evening. 

William  A.  Talcott,  of  the  old  firm  of  Emerson,  Tal- 
cott  &  Co.,  was  one  of  the  finest  men  I  ever  knew,  and 

235 


236  Recollections  1837—1910 

one  of  the  dearest  friends  I  ever  had.  As  a  business  man 
he  was  keen,  prompt  and  successful  and  also  notably  fair 
and  honorable;  as  a  citizen  he  was  public-spirited,  char- 
itable and  philanthropic;  and  in  social  life  he  was  the 
peer  of  the  best.  Having  acquired  a  reasonable  fortune 
he  retired  from  business  several  years  ago.  Not  long 
after,  while  he  and  Mrs.  Talcott  were  traveling  in  Pal- 
estine, he  caught  a  severe  cold  and  within  a  few  days 
died  of  pneumonia  in  Jerusalem. 

Well,  Mr.  Talcott  invited  me  over  to  be  his  guest  dur- 
ing the  reception,  and  at  the  opening  ceremonies  of  the 
fair  the  next  day.  I  found  there  General  and  Mrs.  Grant 
and  Judge  Taft,  father  of  President  Taft.  The  recep- 
tion was  a  notable  event  in  Rockford.  In  the  forenoon 
of  the  next  day  Mr.  Talcott  took  us  about  the  city  and 
through  its  principal  factories.  The  procession  to  the 
fair  grounds  was  to  form  at  the  house  immediately  after 
noon,  when  a  train  from  the  east  should  arrive  bringing 
a  company  of  soldiers  from  Belvidere;  so  lunch  was 
spread  at  twelve  sharp.  After  lunch  Mr.  Talcott  said  to 
the  general,  "As  you  and  friend  Marsh  are  the  only 
smokers  here,  we  will  give  up  the  library  to  you  while 
awaiting  the  soldiers  and  the  formation  of  the  proces- 
sion." During  the  evening  previous,  and  the  forenoon, 
conversation  with  the  general  had  been  limited  to  casual 
remarks;  but  I  could  see  that  he  was  disposed  to  be 
genial  and  friendly,  although  he  knew  that  I  had  been 
one  of  the  Elaine  delegates  who  had  displaced  his  dele- 
gates at  the  late  convention. 

Now  that  we  were  seated,  each  enjoying  his  cigar,  he 
talked  freely  and  as  unreservedly  as  he  might  to  an  old 
friend,  apparently.  Some  one  at  the  lunch  had  asked 


William  A.  Talcott. 


Recollections  1837—1910  237 

him  what  were  his  conclusions  as  to  the  value  of  mission- 
ary work  in  the  far  eastern  countries  which  he  had  re- 
cently visited.  As  his  answer  had  been  brief,  I  referred 
to  the  subject  and  expressed  a  desire  for  further  informa- 
tion. The  substance  of  his  remarks  as  I  remember  was 
about  as  follows:  The  old  practice  of  simply  carrying 
the  Bible  to  the  heathen  and  undertaking  directly  to  make 
converts  of  them  had  not  been  productive  of  much  genu- 
ine faith  or  permanent  improvement,  not  enough  in  some 
instances  to  counterbalance  certain  evils  that  generally 
follow  efforts  to  civilize;  but  latterly  missionaries  were 
establishing  schools  and  endeavoring  to  elevate  the  minds 
of  their  pupils  and  the  community  to  an  appreciation  of 
the  blessings  of  Christian  civilization.  In  this  way  they 
were  doing  good  and  successful  work.  It  was  true  that 
a  few  of  them  had  disgraced  their  calling  by  yielding  to 
the  influences  of  the  climate  and  environments ;  but  gen- 
erally they  were  self-denying  and  devoted  to  their  mis- 
sion. He  related  several  illustrating  instances  and  in- 
cidents that  came  under  his  observation. 

I  referred  to  the  recent  presidential  contest  by  stating 
that  the  opposition  to  him  in  our  district  was  not  per- 
sonal, but  was  due  to  sentiment  against  third  term  and 
sympathy  for  Elaine.  He  said  he  had  not  intended  to 
become  a  candidate,  and  only  yielded  to  the  solicitation 
of  his  friends  after  he  had  got  to  thinking  that,  as  his 
second  term  had  not  been  wholly  satisfactory  to  the  peo- 
ple or  to  himself,  on  account  of  certain  scandals  and 
troubles  which  he  mentioned,  he  would  like  to  have  an- 
other trial,  believing  that  with  his  experience  and  the 
knowledge  he  had  obtained  since,  he  could  give  the  coun- 
try a  much  better  administration.  However,  it  was  all 


238  Recollections  1837—1910 

for  the  best  probably,  and  he  had  no  complaints  to  make 
against  the  opposition  except  for  some  false  statements 
made  by  persons  whom  he  had  regarded  as  friends,  and 
these  had  hurt  him  deeply. 

Speaking  of  his  cordial  reception  abroad  and  of  the 
many  banquets  and  entertainments  to  which  he  had  been 
subjected,  he  said  he  had  become  very  tired  of  them ;  that 
physically  he  was  not  able,  as  some  men  were,  to  stand 
the  wear  and  tear  of  such  dissipation.  As  an  example, 
he  gave  an  amusing  account  of  a  night  recently  spent 
in  Philadelphia  with  General  Cadwalader  as  his  host  or 
guide.  There  was  first  the  appointed  banquet  at  which 
they  sat  a  couple  of  hours,  eating  and  drinking  and  smok- 
ing. Then  came  an  earnest  request  from  the  leaders  of 
an  Irish  society  for  their  attendance  as  promised  at  an 
entertainment  they  were  giving.  Upon  arrival  there,  they 
were  at  once  conducted  into  a  side  room  where  they  were 
pressed  to  drink  Irish  whiskey  with  their  Irish  friends. 
"As  for  me,"  said  Grant,  "I  had  to  beg  off ;  but  Cadwala- 
der took  glass  after  glass  with  them  after  having  drunk  a 
quart  of  champagne  at  the  banquet,  and  didn't  seem  to 
mind  it  a  bit,  though  he  was  past  eighty  years.  Next 
morning  on  my  way  to  the  depot  I  stopped  at  his  office 
to  leave  a  parting  word,  not  expecting  to  find  him  in,  but 
there  he  sat  attending  to  his  mail,  apparently  as  fresh  as 
he  was  the  day  before,  while  I  felt  quite  used  up." 

Meantime  we  had  been  told  that  the  train  which  was 
to  bring  the  soldiers  was  late.  In  fact  it  was  nearly  three 
o'clock  before  the  procession  was  formed.  We  had 
each  smoked  two  of  the  mild  Havanas  furnished  by  Mr. 
Talcott,  when  the  general  reached  over  and  took  a  third 
from  the  box.  He  looked  at  it  a  moment,  put  it  back  and 


Recollections  1837—1910  239 

pulled  from  his  pocket  a  big  black  cigar  which  he  held  up, 
turning  to  me  with  a  peculiar  smile  that  meant  to  say, 
"This  is  the  thing,"  as  he  lighted  it.  All  this  time  we 
were  alone  and  he  was  talking  and  smoking.  Certainly 
he  was  not  "the  silent  man"  during  those  two  or  three 
hours. 

The  soldiers  came  at  last,  the  procession  was  formed 
and  all  moved  down  to  the  fair  grounds,  where  Gen. 
Grant  made  a  brief  opening  address,  which  was  followed 
by  an  appropriate  and  eloquent  speech  by  Ex-Senator 
Lyman  Trumbull,  and  the  ceremonies  of  the  occasion 
were  ended. 

Gen.  Grant  was  then  fifty-eight  years  of  age  and  he 
did  not  look  any  older.  One  would  judge  from  his  ap- 
pearance that  he  was  in  good  health,  was  living  well 
but  temperately  and  was  storing  strength  for  many  more 
years  of  enjoyable  life.  He  was  not  a  man  of  impos- 
ing presence,  but  the  unassuming  dignity  of  his  manner 
was  impressive  and  his  face  was  attractive  and  trust- 
worthy. He  was  a  most  interesting  conversationalist, 
his  mind  apparently  well  stored  with  general  informa- 
tion, his  memory  tenacious  of  details  and  his  language 
good  with  a  peculiarly  easy  flow.  I  saw  but  little  of  Mrs. 
Grant  as  she  was  appropriated  by  the  ladies.  Judge  Taft 
did  not  remain  for  the  opening  of  the  fair,  as  I  recollect. 
He  was  a  large,  big-boned  man  and  apparently  very 
good-natured. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

SNOW  STORMS  AND  BLOCKADES  DURING  WINTER  OF  1881 — 
GREAT  NUMBER  OF  STORMS  IN  1883 DISSOLUTION  OF 

\  THE  OLD  FIRM  OF  C.  W.  AND  W.  W.  MARSH — FOUNDING 
OF  FARM  IMPLEMENT  NEWS. 

MY  second  marriage  occurred  January  10,  1881. 
That  winter  will  long  be  remembered  on  account 
of  its  tremendous  snow  storms  and  their  inter- 
ruption to  travel  and  business.  Very  little  snow  fell  be- 
fore the  middle  of  January,  after  which  storm  followed 
storm  in  quick  succession  until  the  highways  were  so 
filled  and  drifted  that  travel  on  them  was  impossible 
much  of  the  time,  and  the  railways  were  so  blockaded 
by  some  of  the  big  storms  that  trains  could  not  get 
through  for  several  days. 

I  was  then  driving  from  my  home  to  the  office  in 
Sycamore,  a  distance  of  about  four  miles,  every  day, 
when  I  could.  The  brief  memoranda  of  the  storms  and 
blockades  that  I  made  at  the  time  in  my  diary,  which  I 
had  been  keeping  for  several  years,  will  tell  the  story  of 
that  extraordinary  season  with  sufficient  clearness. 

"1st  blockade:  Friday,  Feb.  11. — Terrific  storm  in 
evening  and  night — rain,  hail,  snow,  wind.  12th. — Trains 
stopped  for  the  day.  In  the  afternoon  worked  through 
the  deep  drifts  to  Sycamore. 

"2nd  blockade:  Sunday,  Feb.  27. — Rain  changing  to 
snow,  and  by  evening  an  awful  storm.  28th. — Could 
not  get  through  to  Sycamore;  trains  not  running.  This 

240 


Recollections  1837—1910  241 

is  a  remarkable  storm,  commencing  warm  with  thunder 
on  the  evening  of  the  26th,  giving  us  rain,  hail,  sleet  and 
snow  in  succession  with  very  high  wind. 

"3rd  blockade:  Wednesday,  March  2. — Stormy  and 
sleety.  3rd. — Tremendous  snow ;  completely  snowed  in. 
4th.— Still  snowing.  5th  and  6th. — Shut  in.  7th. — Got 
through  to  Sycamore.  Trains  from  the  east  held  up  from 
Thursday  to  Sunday  morning,  from  the  west  till  Mon- 
day p.  m.  (mem.)  Probably  this  is  the  greatest  snow 
storm  since  the  country  was  settled. 

"4th  blockade:  Friday,  March  11. — Another  snow 
blizzard.  12th. — Tried  to  get  to  Sycamore  but  could  not. 
13th. — Went  to  Sycamore  through  the  fields  with  horse 
and  cutter,  driving  over  three  barb  wire  fences  on  the 
snow  banks ;  nearly  three  hours  making  the  four  miles. 
Trains  stopped  more  .or  less  from  Saturday  till  Monday. 

"5th  blockade:  Saturday,  March  19. — Awful  snow 
storm,  with  a  hurricane  of  wind,  raged  all  day  and  night 
and  into  the  next  day.  20th,  21st  and  22nd. — Penned  in 
and  the  voice  of  the  engine  not  heard  in  the  land.  23rd. — 
Made  a  break  for  Sycamore;  started  at  9  a.  m.  in  com- 
pany of  three  teams  and  fifteen  men  with  shovels ;  we 
broke  and  cut  our  way  through,  arriving  in  Sycamore  at 
12  m.  Channels  through  greatest  snow  banks  so  deep, 
with  snow  piled  so  high  on  sides,  that  teams  coming 
from  different  directions  can't  be  seen  and  drivers  call 
over  before  entering.  Three  feet  of  solid  snow  in  the 
timber. 

"6th  blockade :  Monday,  April  11. — Another  big  snow 
storm  and  snow  gorge ;  trains  not  seriously  bothered,  but 
country  roads  blocked  badly." 

The  foregoing  shows  what  this  climate  is  capable  of 

17 


242  Recollections  1837—1910 

doing  on  occasions.  It  was  estimated  that  more  snow 
fell  that  winter  than  in  all  the  winters  of  the  previous 
twenty  years.  Doctors  and  people  in  the  country  who 
had  to  go  about  went  on  foot  generally,  and  many  pro- 
cured snow  shoes.  After  the  last  snow  storm  the  weather 
became  unseasonably  warm  and  summer  weather  fol- 
lowed. We  had  no  spring  that  year.  Corn  was  planted 
as  early  as  usual  and  before  the  banks  of  snow  along 
the  fences  had  fully  disappeared. 

The  year  1882  was  remarkable  for  its  many  storms  of 
rain,  sleet  and  snow.  According  to  my  record,  storms 
of  one  kind  or  another  occurred  on  134  days.  A  tre- 
mendous storm  of  thunder  and  rain  occurred  on  the  night 
of  June  29 ;  it  has  not  been  beaten  since.  No  one  com- 
plained of  dust  in  the  roads  that  year.  There  was  an 
extraordinary  cold  spell  in  January,  1883,  the  thermom- 
eter in  Sycamore  ranging  from  32  to  36  below  zero  on 
the  24th. 

The  firm  of  C.  W.  &  W.  W.  Marsh  went  down  with 
the  Marsh  companies  that  failed  in  1884,  as  has  been 
stated.  The  brothers  had  worked  together  and  had 
done  business  jointly  since  they  began  to  do  for  them- 
selves. After  the  break-up  at  Sycamore  they  had  noth- 
ing with  which  to  continue  their  joint  work,  and  they 
'had  nothing  to  divide.  They  had  to  separate,  each  to 
make  his  own  way  thereafter.  W.  W.  Marsh  went  to 
Nebraska  and  soon  after  to  Arkansas  to  take  charge  of 
a  mill  there.  His  early  purchases  in  that  state  of  cheap 
timbered  land,  which  became  quite  valuable  later,  and 
other  good  investments  yielded  him  enough  for  a  com- 
fortable living  after  a  few  years,  when  he  returned  to 


Recollections  1837—1910  243 

his  old  home  in  Sycamore  where  he  is  contentedly  await- 
ing the  last  call. 

In  the  fall  of  1884,  A.  M.  Leslie,  of  Chicago,  had 
conceived  the  idea  of  starting  a  farm  implement  trade 
journal  and  was  looking  around  for  some  one  to  join 
him  who  was  familiar  with  the  industry  and  could  write 
sufficiently  well  to  become  its  editor.  A  mutual  friend, 
who  had  noticed  my  occasional  articles  in  the  Chicago 
Field,  recommended  me.  Mr.  Leslie  and  I  met,  our  in- 
terview was  satisfactory  and  I  decided  to  go  in  with  him. 
We  had  the  name  of  the  paper — Farm  Implement  News 
— with  him  as  promoter  and  me  as  editor,  but  it  needed 
an  experienced  publisher.  Soon  after  we  found  just 
the  man  for  the  place,  Mr.  E.  J.  Baker,  who,  though 
young,  had  had  years  of  training  in  a  printing  office 
and  had  already  branched  out  with  a  little  paper  of  his 
own  substantially  in  the  same  line  as  the  one  proposed. 

We  joined  forces  and  began  our  work.  The  first  num- 
ber of  Farm  Implement  News  appeared  in  April,  1885. 
It  was  to  be  a  dealers'  paper,  to  bear  to  them  the  news 
of  the  trade  and  the  advertisements  of  the  manufactur- 
ers; also  to  be  a  medium  for  the  discussion  of  matters 
of  common  interest  to  the  industry.  We  were  unani- 
mous in  our  determination,  then  and  always,  that  it 
should  be  fair,  honest  and  reliable.  It  was  the  first  of 
its  class  and  it  successfully  opened  a  new  field  of  journal- 
ism. It  early  advocated  and  assisted  in  the  formation 
of  dealers'  associations,  as  also  the  organization  of  the 
manufacturers'  association — the  first  call  for  which  went 
out  from  its  office.  Its  success  has  demonstrated  Ks 
value  both  to  its  owners  and  to  the  trade.  Mr.  Leslie 
and  I  retired  from  active  work  on  it  several  years  ago, 


244  Recollections  1837—1910 

but  its  quality  has  been  maintained  or  improved  under 
the  very  able  management  of  Mr.  Baker  and  the  edi- 
torial ability  of  Mr.  C.  A.  Lukens. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

TRIP  TO  FLORIDA  IN  WINTER  OF  1887  AS  GUESTS  OF  COLONEL 

AND    MRS.    ELL  WOOD SUMMER    OF    1887    EXTREMELY 

DRY — TRIP  TO  MEXICO  IN  SPRING  OF  1889 — LEARNING 
SPANISH  AND  WHAT  CAME  OF  IT — PROGRESS  IN  MEX- 
ICO. 

IN  the  winter  of  1887  Colonel  and  Mrs.  I.  L.  Ellwood 
invited  Mrs.  Marsh  and  me  to  be  their  guests  at  their 
winter  home  in  Palatka,  Flordia,  and  to  accompany 
them  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hiram  Ellwood  in  various  excur- 
sions on  the  St.  John  river  and  along  the  coast  in  their 
new  steam  yacht,  Augusta.  We  spent  a  most  delightful 
month  with  them.  The  invitation  came  at  a  time  when 
I  was  barely  earning  enough  to  keep  my  family  and  when 
we  were  still  trying  to  get  used  to  our  changed  circum- 
stances. It  was  a  delicate  manifestation  of  friendship 
and  sympathy  on  the  part  of  Col.  and  Mrs.  Ellwood,  char- 
acteristic of  them  and  highly  appreciated  by  us. 

At  that  time  the  orange  industry  of  Florida  was  in  its 
highest  state  of  prosperity.  Large  orchards,  the  trees 
laden  with  the  golden  fruit,  fine  residences  and  well  kept 
grounds  occupied  the  high  lands  along  the  river  in  the 
orange  region.  A  few  years  later,  recurring  hard  frosts 
killed  the  trees  and  nearly  destroyed  the  industry,  so  that 
when  next  we  were  there,  in  1906,  dead  trees  and  weeds 
and  abandond  buildings  marked  the  sites  of  many  a  plan- 
tation that  was  flourishing  and  beautiful  in  1887.  Mean- 
time also  the  demand  for  lumber  had  reached  the  mag- 

245 


246  Recollections  1837—1910 

nificent  cypress  trees  that  then  bordered  the  river  and 
they  have  gone  to  the  mills.  These  losses  have  deprived 
the  shores  of  their  beauty  and  given  them  a  compara- 
tively desolate  aspect,  though  orange  culture  has  been 
revived  to  a  considerable  extent  and  various  other  pro- 
ducts now  occupy  the  old  grounds. 

The  summer  of  1887  was  extremely  hot  and  dry.  Small 
grain  and  hay  were  so  far  advanced  before  the  drouth 
became  injurious  that  they  came  through  with  little 
damage.  But  corn  was  badly  hurt ;  the  crop  was  notably 
short,  and  prices  ran  up  from  about  40  cents  per  bushel 
early  in  the  summer  to  60  cents  before  the  crop  was  har- 
vested. The  "bulls"  in  corn  made  fortunes  that  summer 
and  fall. 

In  the  spring  of  1889,  my  much  valued  friend,  Col. 
Frank  P.  Holland,  proprietor  of  Farm  and  Ranch,  Dal- 
las, Tex.,  obtained  for  me  an  invitation  from  the  officials 
of  the  Texas  Press  Association  to  attend  their  conven- 
tion, to  be  held  at  El  Paso,  and  to  accompany  them  on 
their  excursion  to  the  city  of  Mexico.  I  joined  the  party 
that  went  from  Dallas.  The  distance  across  the  state 
between  Texarkana  and  El  Paso,  by  the  old  Texas  Pa- 
cific Railway,  is  about  eight  hundred  miles. 

There  is  no  finer  agricultural  section  in  the  United 
States  than  that  about  Dallas  and  Forth  Worth.  It  was 
then  well  settled.  But  westward  from  Fort  Worth  we 
passed  into  a  region  of  red  or  light  colored  soils,  of 
mesquite  bushes  and  prairie-dog  towns,  which  to  me 
seemed  to  be  poor  farming  country.  I  was  told,  how- 
ever, that  it  was  being  farmed  successfully,  and  Abilene 
in  its  midst  appeared  to  be  a  flourishing  town.  Farther 
toward  the  western  side  of  the  state  there  was  a  wide 


Col.  I.  L.  Ellwood. 


Recollections  1837—1910 


stretch  of  desert  country,  apparently,  with  little  growth 
upon  it  except  cactus  and  no  settlements  nor  inhabitants 
except  at  the  railway  stations.  But  even  that  part  of 
the  state  has  been  settled  since  and  is  yielding  a  living 
to  those  who  have  ventured  upon  it,  I  understand.  As 
we  approached  El  Paso  and  the  Rio  Grande  the  fine 
farms  and  luxuriant  vegetation  showed  what  could  be 
accomplished  by  irrigation. 

The  convention,  which  was  a  notable  success,  extended 
through  the  three  last  days  of  April,  and  on  May  1  we 
started  for  the  city  of  Mexico.  The  members  of  the 
association  and  their  few  guests  filled  two  sleepers.  It 
was  a  jolly,  genial  crowd  but  quite  well  behaved,  every 
one,  apparently,  being  disposed  to  fully  enjoy  the  occa- 
sion and  to  contribute  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  others. 
Col.  W.  A.  Shaw  (Bilshaw)  was  the  champion  story 
teller  of  our  party. 

The  run  to  the  city  of  Mexico  was  made  in  two  days. 
I  shall  not  attempt  any  description  of  the  country;  our 
people  have  had  a  plenty  of  that.  But  I  will  notice  one 
little  incident  by  the  way,  because  it  suggested  action  on 
my  part  that  had  a  considerable  effect  upon  the  pursuits 
of  the  family  later.  As  the  train  halted  for  dinner  the 
second  day,  one  of  the  party  noticing  the  name  of  the 
station  called  out  "By  jimminy,  this  is  Jimenez."  "No, 
it  isn't,"  answered  another,  "it  is  He-ma-nays,  as  pro- 
nounced in  Spanish."  "Well/'  said  the  other,  "Spanish 
must  be  a  hard  language  to  pronounce  if  this  is  a  sample," 
,to  which  it  was  replied  that  no  other  was  easier  after 
the  sounds  of  the  letters  had  been  learned.  This  in- 
duced me  to  seek  more  information  from  the  gentleman 
who  knew  Spanish,  and  resulted  in  my  determination  to 


248  Recollections  1837—1910 

undertake  its  acquisition.  So  on  my  return  I  proposed 
to  the  folks  at  home  that  in  the  evenings  and  at  leisure 
times  we  should  study  Spanish.  We  immediately  began 
on  it,  teaching  ourselves  and  taking  lessons  from  pro- 
fessors, persisting  until  nearly  all  the  family  became 
more  or  less  familiar  with  the  language.  This  effort  was 
a  good  investment.  It  greatly  increased  our  enjoyment 
of  trips  which  later  we  took  to  Mexico  and  other  Span- 
ish American  countries ;  and  so  influenced  my  son-in-law, 
Mr.  Beaupre,  that  he  applied  for  a  consulate  in  Mexico. 
He  was  appointed  to  Acapulco,  but  was  soon  transferred 
to  Guatemala  as  consul  general ;  next  he  was  sent  to  Bo- 
gota, where  he  was  promoted  to  the  Ministry;  later  he 
was  given  such  position  at  Buenos  Aires,  and  two  years 
ago,  in  the  line  of  advancement,  he  was  transferred  to 
The  Hague. 

Returning  to  the  trip  to  Mexico :  It  was  highly  satis- 
factory to  the  participants  and  was  completed  without 
accident  or  notable  incident.  At  that  time  Mexico  had 
but  just  entered  on  its  course  of  rapid  progress.  The 
country  and  the  cities  were  about  as  they  had  been  for 
centuries.  One  might  imagine  himself  in  Egypt  or  in 
some  oriental  country  where  civilization  had  reached  the 
medieval  plane  and  halted.  The  city  of  Mexico  located 
in  its  elevated  basin  and  surrounded  by  lofty  mountains 
had  no  drainage.  Its  filth  had  seeped  into  the  soil  for 
many  centuries  and  its  various  stenches  considerably 
marred  our  enjoyment  of  the  beauty  and  romance  of 
the  city  and  its  surroundings.  Since  then  a  tunnel  has 
been  driven  through  the  mountains,  by  which  the  city  and 
valley  are  drained,  and  the  country  in  general  has  been 
so  modernized  by  the  application  of  up-to-date  improve- 


Recollections  1837—1910  249 

ments  as  to  make  it  considerably  less  charming  or  inter- 
esting to  tourists ;  so  it  appeared  to  me  on  later  visits. 

An  immense  amount,  in  the  aggregate,  of  American 
capital  has  been  invested  in  Mexico — in  railroads,  mines 
and  lands,  which  investments,  encouraged  and  protected 
by  the  wise,  though  autocratic,  President  Diaz,  have 
generally  proved  profitable.  More  as  dictator  than  as 
constitutional  ruler,  he  has  governed  the  country  for 
twenty-six  consecutive  years,  during  which  time  he  has 
maintained  peace  and  order  throughout  the  Republic,  and 
led  or  forced  his  people  so  far  forward  that  there  is 
good  reason  to  believe  that  they  will  quietly  continue  in 
the  path  of  peace  and  progress  after  his  death.  The 
resident  Americans  whom  we  met  were  generally  satis- 
fied with  the  conditions  and  with  the  government. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

BOOM    OF    1891 MUD    EMBARGO    OF    1892 — BEGINNING    OF 

THE  PANIC — CLEVELAND  ELECTED  PRESIDENT — SPECIAL 
SESSION  OF  CONGRESS  CALLED  IN  1893  FOR  REPEAL  OF 
SILVER  COINAGE  LAW PANIC  FULLY  DEVELOPED — RE- 
PEAL AFFORDED  LITTLE  OR  NO  RELIEF — WILSON  LAW 
IN  1894 — CAUSES  ASSIGNED  FOR  PANIC  AND  LONG  DE- 
PRESSION— RELIEF  CAME  WITH  INCREASED  PRODUC- 
TION OF  GOLD JOSEPH  CHAMBERLAIN'S  REMARKABLE 

PREDICTION THE  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 

PRICES  of  products  were  generally  low  and  times 
rather  dull  through  the  "eighties."  In  1890  we 
got  the  McKinley  tariff  and  with  it  promises  from 
its  advocates  that  improvement  would  immediately  fol- 
low. In  1891  it  happened  that  in  this  country  the  cli- 
matic conditions  were  extremely  favorable  to  agriculture 
and  in  Europe  extremely  unfavorable,  with  the  result 
that  crops  were  big  here  and  light  there.  Foreign  de- 
mand for  our  agricultural  products  increased  as  soon  as 
these  conditions  became  apparent,  and  prices  advanced 
rapidly  as  the  season  progressed  and  it  became  evident 
that  all  we  could  spare  from  our  abundant  harvests  would 
be  needed  abroad. 

Such  prospects,  and  much  confidence  in  the  efficiency 
of  the  new  tariff,  quickly  stimulated  trade  and  industry. 
After  harvest,  when  the  money  for  the  big  yields  came 
pouring  in,  business  boomed  and  industrial  expansion  be- 
came general.  In  anticipation  of  the  continuance  of  such 

250 


Recollections  1837—1910  251 

prosperity  the  productive  capacity  of  established  works 
was  generally  increased  and  many  new  factories  were 
built.  But  this  prosperity  had  no  permanent  foundation ; 
it  was  based  upon  an  extraordinary  freak  of  the  weather 
and  it  was  wrecked  by  an  extraordinary  freak  of  the 
weather. 

The  spring  of  1892  opened  unfavorably;  the  weather 
was  rainy  and  raw,  and  it  continued  rainy  and  raw  all 
through  the  spring  months  and  nearly  to  .July.  Crops 
were  planted  late  and  in  the  mud,  and  cultivation  was 
done  in  the  mud.  In  short  it  was  the  wettest,  rawest 
and  dirtiest  of  all  our  nasty  springs.  It  was  the  season 
of  the  famous  "mud  embargo,"  so  called  because  the 
mud  prevented  travel  and  carriage  over  the  country  roads 
to  and  from  market  and  for  the  time  arrested  rural  traffic 
in  the  west.  Prospects  early  that  summer  were  quite  the 
reverse  of  what  they  were  the  year  before.  Instead  of 
big  crops  and  advancing  prices  we  were  facing  short 
crops  and  declining  prices.  The  brief  period  of  pros- 
perity was  ended  and  the  reaction  that  culminated  in 
the  panic  of  the  following  year  had  already  begun. 

After  harvest  the  conditions  grew  worse;  prices  of 
farm  products  continued  to  decline  until  the  advances 
made  in  1891  were  lost;  demand  for  manufactured  goods 
fell  off,  and  generally  plans  for  future  operations  had  to 
be  reconsidered  and  reduced.  The  disappointment  and 
dissatisfaction  consequent  were  disastrous  to  the  Repub- 
lican party.  Its  leaders,  in  claiming  credit  for  their 
tariff  as  a  maker  of  prosperity,  had  promised  dollar 
wheat  to  the  farmer  and  employment  with  good  wages  to 
the  laborer,  and  now  they  could  not  deliver.  They  lost 
the  election.  During  the  winter  following  the  bankers 


252  Recollections  1837—1910 

were  attacking  silver  coinage  and  questioning  the  sta- 
bility of  our  currency.  And  again  spring  was  exces- 
sively wet  and  discouraging  until  quite  late.  Trade  was 
stagnant  and  the  panic  was  on. 

The  conditions  demanded  prompt  action  on  the  part 
of  the  Democratic  administration  just  inaugurated  and 
President  Cleveland  called  an  extra  session  of  Congress, 
not  to  amend  or  revise  the  tariff  but  to  reform  the  finan- 
cial system  by  repealing  the  law  governing  the  coinage 
of  silver.  This  remedy  afforded  little  or  no  relief.  Dur- 
ing the  winter  of  1893-4  the  Wilson  bill  was  introduced 
-and  passed  by  Congress,  but  it  did  not  come  into  effect 
until  late  in  August,  1894,  more  than  two  years  after  the 
reaction  had  begun  that  ended  in  the  general  collapse. 

No  one  then  charged  the  panic  to  the  Cleveland  admin- 
istration or  to  the  Wilson  tariff.  That  would  have  been 
as  ridiculous  as  to  say  that  Tom  was  sick  Monday  because 
he  got  his  feet  wet  Tuesday.  The  Wilson  bill  was  not 
at  all  a  free-trade  measure,  not  so  much  so  as  the  present 
Payne  law,  according  to  Speaker  Cannon,  who  recently 
stated  that  under  the  latter  more  goods  were  admitted 
free  than  under  any  other  of  our  tariff  laws.  Yet,  in  a 
few  years  after  the  panic  our  leaders  began  to  charge  it 
up  against  the  Cleveland  administration  and  the  free- 
trade  schedule  of  the  Wilson  law;  and  they  have  con- 
tinued to  make  such  charge  in  campaign  speeches  or 
whenever  our  people  get  restive  under  high  duties,  until 
the  rank  and  file  of  our  party,  and  some  of  our  leaders, 
perhaps,  really  believe  it  to  be  true.  That's  politics. 

The  period  of  lowest  depression  lasted  about  five  years, 
from  early  summer  in  1892  to  early  summer  in  1897.  At 
that  time  it  was  generally  believed  that  over-production 


Recollections  1837—1910  253 

was  the  main  cause  of  the  depression;  that  the  use  of 
highly  improved  labor-saving  machinery  in  nearly  every 
line  had  increased  production  until  it  was  greater  than 
consumption  required;  thus,  manual  labor  had  been  dis- 
placed, the  markets  glutted  and  products  cheapened,  to 
continue  cheap  or  to  become  cheaper  as  machinery  might 
be  further  improved.  Others  contended  that  the  de- 
pression was  due  to  the  limited  output  of  gold,  which 
was  making  real  money  dearer,  and  to  the  over-produc- 
tion of  silver,  its  unstable  value  making  currency  as  a 
whole  unreliable — the  one  causing  low  prices  of  products 
and  the  other  disturbing  confidence  and  discouraging  en- 
terprise. Owing  to  the  decrease  in  the  yield  of  gold 
from  the  mines  in  California  and  Australia,  the  world's 
annual  production  of  gold  through  the  "eighties"  only 
averaged  a  little  above  $100,000,000  in  value  annually; 
one  year  it  fell  below  that  sum.  During  that  period  the 
times  were  generally  dull  in  Europe,  as  in  this  country 
(excepting  our  spurt  in  1891),  and  the  depression  con- 
tinued until  after  the  middle  of  the  "nineties,"  by  which 
time  the  discovery  and  operation  of  new  gold  fields  in 
South  Africa,  West  Australia  and  Alaska,  and  improved 
processes  for  extracting  the  metal,  had  doubled  produc- 
tion. Then,  in  1896,  the  times  began  to  show  decided 
improvement  in  Europe,  and  the  next  year  in  this  coun- 
try, the  year's  delay  here  having  been  caused  by  the  finan- 
cial question  at  issue  in  the  presidential  election. 

In  1895  or  1896  Joseph  Chamberlain,  British  colonial 
secretary,  made  an  extensive  tour  through  the  colonies, 
during  which  he  gave  particular  attention  to  gold  min- 
ing and  its  possibilities.  On  his  return,  in  an  address 
before  the  British  Board  of  Trade,  he  stated  that  the  in- 


254:  Recollections  1837—1910 

creasing  yield  of  gold  was  such  that  within  a  year  or 
two  the  world's  production  would  reach  $300,000,000,  the 
mines  giving  promise  of  further  increase  and  of  keeping 
up  the  supply  for  many  years.  He  expressed  the  opinion 
that  the  lengthy  depression  had  been  largely  due  to  the 
failure  of  gold  production  to  keep  pace  with  the  needs  of 
the  world;  that  the  supply  of  gold  having  been  short 
and  limited,  its  value  as  money  had  been  too  high,  and  that 
of  commodities,  as  measured  by  it,  too  low,  that  is,  for 
money  too  much  of  commodities  had  to  be  given,  hence 
products  were  cheap  and  production  was  discouraged. 
But  with  the  large  and  increasing  output  of  gold,  money 
would  be  easier  and  cheaper,  prices  of  products  would 
be  advancing  and  trade  and  industry  become  increasingly 
active.  In  view  of  such  conditions  he  predicted  that  the 
world  was  about  to  enter  upon  an  era  of  greater  pros- 
perity than  was  ever  known.  The  annual  yield  of  gold 
is  now  valued  at  over  $400,000,000,  and  Chamberlain  has 
proved  to  be  a  true  prophet. 

It  was  fortunate  that  the  time  for  holding  the  Colum- 
bian Exposition  was  changed  from  1892  to  1893,  as  the 
weather  through  the  winter,  spring  and  early  summer  of 
'92  would  have  prevented  completion  of  the  buildings 
and  grounds  and  the  installation  of  machinery  and  ex- 
hibits in  due  season.  The  spring  of  '93  was  bad  enough ; 
but  after  the  middle  of  May  the  climatic  conditions  be- 
came and  continued  notably  favorable.  The  beauty  of 
the  great  "White  City"  cannot  be  forgotten  by  those 
who  saw  it.  Never  before  had  there  been  such  a  creation, 
nor  has  there  been  since.  It  would  be  foolish  for  me  to 
attempt  any  description  of  it  or  its  multitudinous  attrac- 
tions. It  was  a  great  success  as  a  show,  but  not  as  a 


Recollections  1837—1910  255 

financial  venture.  The  farm  implement  and  machinery 
department  was  immense  and  well  filled,  the  exhibits 
showing  that  since  the  centennial  exhibition  many  im- 
provements and  various  valuable  inventions  had  been 
made,  chief  among  the  latter,  on  account  of  its  import- 
ance to  agriculture,  was  the  .manure  spreader.  The 
automobile,  crude  and  clumsy  as  compared  with  those  of 
to-day,  made  its  first  appearance  at  a  great  exposition  in 
this  country. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

TRIP  TO  GUATEMALA  IN  1898 — ASSASSINATION  OF  PRESI- 
DENT BARRIOS INTERESTING  JOURNEY  TO  THE  CAPI- 
TAL— THE  THREE  DOMINATING  VOLCANOES — THE 
THREE  CAPITALS — EARTHQUAKE  RUINS — MANY  AT- 
TRACTIONS FOR  TOURISTS — DESTRUCTION  OF  THE 
MAINE. 

IN  the  winter  of  1898,  Mr.  Beaupre  being  then  consul- 
general  in  Guatemala,  we  decided  to  visit  that  coun- 
try. Our  party  consisted  of  my  wife,  daughter,  self 
and  D.  E.  Wood,  of  Elgin.  The  evening  of  our  arrival  at 
New  Orleans,  the  newspapers  gave  brief  reports  of  the 
assassination  the  day  before  of  President  Barrios  and 
of  the  probabilities  of  revolution  in  Guatemala.  Mr. 
Beaupre  had  cabled  us  not  to  come,  but  the  dispatch  did 
not  reach  us  and  we  went  on.  The  run  down  the  river 
from  New  Orleans  and  across  the  gulf  to  Puerto  Bar- 
rios takes  three  days.  At  that  time  the  railway  from  the 
port  toward  the  capital  reached  only  to  El  Rancho,  132 
miles,  and  the  rest  of  the  distance,  about  60  miles,  had 
to  be  made  by  mule-back  on  a  trail  over  a  wild  and  moun- 
tainous country. 

On  arrival  at  Puerto  Barrios  we  were  officially  in- 
formed that  the  country  was  under  martial  law  and  that 
if  we  went  ashore  we  could  not  return  without  per- 
mission of  the  government.  We  were  advised  to  remain 
on  board  the  boat  and  to  go  back  with  it ;  but  one  of  the 
passengers,  an  American,  with  whom  we  had  become  ac- 

256 


Recollections  1837—1910  257 

quainted,  then  and  for  many  years  a  resident  of  Guate- 
mala, assured  us  that  there  would  be  little  or  no  danger 
in  making  the  journey  to  the  capital,  as  most  of  the 
way  was  by  rail  and  on  the  trail  we  would  find  the  natives 
kindly  and  inoffensive,  and  the  soldiers,  if  we  met  any, 
respectful.  I  had  been  in  poor  health  some  time  before 
we  started,  was  awfully  sick  on  the  boat  and  felt  that  I 
must  get  ashore  whatever  might  be  the  danger.  The 
others  were  not  afraid,  so  we  landed. 

The  train  had  been  waiting  for  the  boat  and  we  were 
soon  speeding  along  through  the  forests  and  jungles  of 
the  "hot  lands"  that  lie  down  by  the  sea.  Near  stations 
patches  had  been  cleared  and  planted  to  bananas,  sugar 
cane,  etc.  As  we  ascended  toward  the  interior  vegeta- 
tion gradually  became  sub-tropical  in  appearance,  and 
at  El  Rancho,  about  800  feet  above  sea  level,  the  land- 
scape, climate  and  products  were  similar  to  those  of 
southern  California,  limes  and  oranges  of  finest  quality 
being  abundant. 

The  mule  ride  from  El  Rancho  to  the  capital  was  ex- 
tremely interesting,  but  tiresome,  of  course.  The  sixty 
miles  is  usually  made  in  two  days.  The  trail  southward 
is  up  and  down  over  parallel  ranges,  the  one  a  little 
higher  than  the  other,  until  the  central  plateau  on  which 
lies  the  city,  some  4,800  feet  above  the  sea,  is  reached. 
The  scenery  is  wild,  beautiful,  or  magnificent,  as  the 
ever  changing  points  of  view  unfold  it.  Our  little  car- 
avan met  with  no  accident  or  annoyances.  We  were 
pleasantly  received  and  treated  by  the  people  (Indians  or 
natives)  of  the  little  villages  through  which  we  passed 
or  in  which  we  stopped.  Several  times  we  met  squads 
of  soldiers  who  courteously  gave  us  right  of  way.  That 

18 


258  Recollections  1837—1910 

a  plan  had  been  laid  to  rob  us  seemed  probable  from 
what  we  learned;  but  a  considerable  addition  to  our 
party  prevented  any  such  attempt,  if  it  had  been  con- 
sidered. We  got  through  all  right.  The  city  had  re- 
covered from  the  excitement  caused  by  the  assassination 
and  by  the  bloody  affray  between  the  incoming  and  out- 
going garrisons  of  the  barracks;  the  change  of  admin- 
istration had  been  fully  accomplished;  Vice-President 
Cabrera  had  assumed  the  presidency  and  conditions  had 
become  normal. 

Central  Guatemala  is  dominated  by  three  great  vol- 
canoes named  Agua,  Fuego  and  Pacaya,  and  these  have 
been  closely  identified  with  the  most  startling  events  in 
its  history.  The  country  was  conquered  from  the  Indians 
by  Alvarado,  the  famous  companion  of  Cortez,  in  1524. 
In  1527  the  foundations  of  the  first  capital  were  laid 
at  the  base  of  Agua,  on  a  gentle  slope  that  descends 
toward  the  valley  between  it  and  Fuego.  By  the  forced 
work  of  thousands  of  Indians  its  building  proceeded  so 
rapidly  that  in  1530  it  was  a  handsome  city.  In  1541  it 
was  buried  by  water  and  mud  which  were  thrown  out  of 
Agua  during  an  earthquake,  Alvarado's  wife  perishing 
with  the  other  inhabitants.  Another  site,  a  beautiful 
little  valley  about  three  miles  from  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain, was  selected.  Here  the  capital  was  rebuilt.  In  time 
it  became  a  populous  and  wealthy  city,  the  ecclesiastical 
center  of  Central  America.  In  1773  it  was  totally  de- 
stroyed by  an  earthquake.  At  that  time  it  contained 
forty-five  churches  and  as  many  convents,  massive  struc- 
tures, the  broken  remains  of  which  are  mostly  lying 
where  they  fell,  as  this  site  also  was  abandoned.  The 
ruins  of  the  two  old  cities,  now  named  Vieja  and  Antigua, 


Recollections  1837—1910  259 

are  exceedingly  interesting  examples  of  the  awfully  de- 
structive power  of  earthquakes.  The  last  site  selected 
for  the  ruling  city  was  about  thirty  miles  westward,  on 
a  broad  and  extensive  valley,  where  Guatemala  Nueva,  or 
New  Guatemala,  the  present  capital,  was  duly  erected. 
Pacaya  dominates  Amatitlan,  the  town  and  lake  and  beau- 
tiful country  surrounding.  The  once  flourishing  city  was 
wrecked  a  couple  of  centuries  back  and  the  straggling 
town  that  remains  was  severely  shaken  five  or  six  years 
ago.  Steam  and  hot  water  are  continually  issuing  from 
the  base  of  the  mountain  into  the  lake  and  along  its 
shore.  Besides  the  wrecks  caused  by  earthquakes,  there 
are  many  interesting  ruins  and  relics  of  a  prehistoric 
civilization. 

Guatemala  is  rich  in  natural  resources  and  fine  scenery, 
and  its  elevated  center  is  blessed  with  a  most  delightful 
climate;  but  its  beauty  and  advantages  are  wasted  upon 
a  people  who,  as  a  whole,  are  incapable  of  appreciating 
and  developing  them,  or  of  selecting  and  supporting  lead- 
ers who  might  show  them  how  to  improve  their  condition. 
It  is  a  country  to  which  might  well  be  applied  a  couplet 
from  an  old  missionary  hymn : 

"Where  every  prospect  pleases, 
And  only  man  is  vile." 

If  it  were  owned  by  the  United  States  or  England  it 
would  soon  be  made  a  paradise.  And  now  there  is  no 
other  country,  so  easily  reached,  that  will  so  well  repay 
a  visit — which  is  the  principal  reason  for  my  saying  so 
much  about  it. 

The  way  is  down  to  New  Orleans,  then  down  the 
river  a  hundred  miles  to  the  gulf,  a  day  and  a  half  on 


260  Recollections  1837—1910 

the  gulf  and  another  day,  including  a  few  hours  at  beau- 
tiful Balize,  on  the  Caribbean  Sea  among  the  coral  islands 
and  you  are  at  Puerto  Barrios.  The  railway  is  now  con> 
pleted  from  the  port  to  the  capital.  The  train  leaves  in 
the  morning  and  arrives  at  the  city  in  the  evening.  Cli- 
matically, the  day's  journey  begins  in  the  tropics  and 
ends  in  the  temperate  zone;  in  the  morning  heat  and  the 
jungle,  in  the  evening  refreshing  coolness  among  the 
oaks  and  pines  that  grow  on  the  hills  before  the  city, 
the  gradual  ascent  unfolding  interesting  changes  in  veg- 
etation and  all  the  way  presenting  varied  views,  with 
splendid  mountain  scenery  toward  the  end. 

While  we  were  in  Guatemala  the  Maine  was  blown  up, 
or  blown  down  (the  direction  of  the  explosion  being  yet 
a  moot  question)  in  the  harbor  of  Havana.  Everybody 
assumed  that  war  with  Spairi  was  sure  to  follow.  The 
probabilities  were  freely  discussed  by  the  official  repre- 
sentatives of  various  nations.  They  were  generally  of 
the  opinion  that  the  United  States  would  win  in  the  end, 
but  not  until  the  Spanish  fleet  had  destroyed  some  of 
our  unprotected  cities  on  the  Atlantic  coast  and  had  cap- 
tured many  of  our  merchant  vessels,  the  fear  of  which 
caused  several  persons  going  or  returning  to  the  United 
States  to  take  the  Pacific  route  to  San  Francisco.  The 
events  that  soon  followed  showed  how  poor  was  their 
judgment.  We  were  about  six  weeks  in  the  country, 
enjoyed  the  visit  very  much  and  returned  the  way  we 
came  without  incident  worth  noticing,  my  health  having 
been  fully  restored. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

HUNTING  TRIP  TO  TEXAS — SLAUGHTER  OF  GAME — DESTRUC- 
TION OF  SONG  BIRDS — THE  LEATHER-STOCKING  CLUB 
— CAMPING  AND  HUNTING  IN  THE  NORTH  WOODS. 

IN  November,  1898,  Col.  I.  L.  Ellwood  and  I  went 
down  to  Texas,  on  invitation  of  our  friend,  Holland, 
at  Dallas,  to  join  him  and  three  other  sportsmen  in 
a  hunting  and  fishing  expedition  among  the  islands  and 
lagoons  lying  between  the  gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  main 
land  in  the  vicinity  of  Rockport.  Two  little  schooners 
had  been  engaged  and  by  noon  of  the  day  after  our  ar- 
rival in  Rockport  we  were  out  upon  the  water.  We 
landed  at  an  island  distant  a  few  miles  and  that  after- 
noon and  evening  the  party  killed  two  deer,  fifteen  geese, 
sixty  ducks,  thirty-two  quails  and  ten  snipes.  Next  morn- 
ing we  sailed  to  another  island  where  in  the  afternoon 
we  killed  fourteen  geese  and  fourteen  ducks,  and  during 
the  day  following  thirty-seven  geese,  thirteen  ducks  and 
forty  quails.  Next  morning  we  moved  again,  and  that 
day  the  killing  was  seventy-three  geese,  forty-one  ducks, 
thirty-seven  quails,  two  whooping  cranes  and  one  wild 
cat.  (The  cranes  were  brought  down  by  Col.  Ellwood 
at  one  shot  of  both  barrels.  These  immense  birds  are 
well  known  in  Minnesota  and  North  Dakota,  and  like 
the  geese  move  northward  and  southward  with  the 
changes  of  the  season.  They  are  becoming  scarce.)  On 
the  morning  of  the  fifth  day  we  started  for  a  bay  wherein 
diamond  back  terrapin  were  said  to  be  abundant;  but  a 
storm  coming  up,  the  noses  of  the  schooners  were  turned 
toward  Rockport,  which  we  were  mighty  glad  to  reach, 

261 


Recollections  1837—1910 


all  having  had  more  than  we  wanted  of  bounding  billows 
and  most  of  us  enough  of  the  sport.  Next  morning  we 
started  for  home. 

The  count  of  game  bagged  was  391,  and  probably  as 
many  birds  went  off  wounded — more  or  less — as  were 
killed.  The  best  shot  and  most  persistent  and  success- 
ful hunter  of  the  party  was  Bruce  Leffingwell,  well 
known  by  sportsmen  as  a  pleasing  writer  on  game  and 
shooting.  My  record  was  the  lowest,  because  I  was  the 
poorest  shot  and  had  the  least  desire  to  kill.  Such 
butchery  has  greatly  decreased  the  game  in  that  favorite 
resort.  And  abundant  as  it  appeared  to  our  party,  it 
was  less  than  we  had  in  Illinois  in  the  early  days  when,  be- 
sides numberless  prairie  chickens  and  quails  the  year 
around,  our  sloughs  in  the  open  seasons  swarmed  with 
geese,  ducks,  cranes,  snipes  and  plovers  of  all  kinds. 
They  were  killed  off  or  their  haunts  were  broken  up 
long  ago.  Unless  more  carefully  protected  all  such  game 
will  be  exterminated  before  this  generation  shall  have 
passed. 

When  we  made  our  home  on  the  edge  of  this  grove 
near  DeKalb,  forty  years  ago,  song  birds  of  many  kinds 
were  very  numerous.  In  the  spring  flocks  of  them  on 
their  way  northward  would  drop  in  the  woods  to  feed  and 
then  pass  onward,  leaving  some  of  their  number  to  pass 
the  season  here.  Often  have  I  wakened  just  at  dawn  on 
fine  summer  mornings  to  hear  first  the  peep  of  some 
small  bird,  then  answering  cries ;  next  the  calls  of  other 
kinds  of  birds  and  the  answers,  and  so  on  until  as  the  day 
opened  there  was  such  a  chorus  of  intermingled  calls  and 
songs  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  recognize  any  one 
distinctively.  But  for  many  years  no  such  morning  chorus 


Recollections  1837—1910  263 

has  saluted  us.  We  still  have  birds  in  the  grove  and  on 
the  lawn,  but  they  are  few  as  compared  with  those  of  the 
not  remote  past.  Robins  are  yet  plentiful  in  the  summer, 
and  sparrows  and  crows  are  with  us  always.  These  lat- 
ter, and  squirrels,  perhaps,  and  boys  with  guns  have 
destroyed  or  driven  away  most  of  our  songsters. 

When  this  section  of  the  country  was  new  we  farmers 
had,  or  could  only  procure,  the  common  old-fashioned, 
muzzle-loading  guns,  not  to  be  compared  with  the  mod- 
ern breech  loaders  for  strong  and  rapid  shooting,  and 
we  could  not  afford  the  time  and  expense  required  for 
the  practice  necessary  in  order  to  become  "crack  shots ;" 
but  game  was  so  plentiful  that,  with  such  poor  guns  and 
skill  as  we  had,  almost  anyone  could  get  a  good  bag. 
I  was  very  fond  of  hunting  and  spent  as  much  time  with 
dog  and  gun  as  I  could  spare ;  not  so  much  for  the  killing 
as  for  the  pleasure  of  rambling  over  the  prairie  and 
through  the  fields,  of  watching  the  intelligent  perfor- 
mances of  the  dog  and  studying  the  habits  of  the  va- 
rious birds.  I  could  not  indulge  this  disposition  during 
the  period  in  which  we  were  engaged  in  the  harvester 
business — inventing,  introducing  and  building — and  be- 
fore we  were  relieved  of  that  burden  game  had  quite 
disappeared  from  this  section.  In  consequence  of  such 
disappearance  some  sportsmen  and  others,  who  in  their 
vacations  desired  to  cut  entirely  clear  from  business  cares 
and  civilization,  were  going  singly  or  in  parties  or  clubs 
into  the  "North  Woods"  of  Wisconsin  or  Michigan,  to 
hunt  and  fish  during  the  open  season. 

One  of  these  clubs,  whose  members  I  knew  and  much 
respected,  had  taken  the  name  of  Leather-Stocking  Club. 
In  1886,  on  invitation  to  become  a  member,  I  joined  them. 


264  Recollections  1837—1910 

Our  practice  was  to  go  far  into  the  wild  woods  early  in 
the  fall  of  every  year,  to  make  camp  at  some  place  pre- 
viously selected  as  favorable  to  both  hunting  and  fishing, 
and  to  remain  there  two  or  three  weeks.  Our  camp 
equipage  consisted  of  three  tents  (usually  set  end  to  end, 
constituting  kitchen,  diner  and  sleeping  room),  two  light 
stoves — especially  constructed — two  boats  and  necessary 
utensils  and  provisions  except  meat.  The  stuff,  landed 
at  nearest  station,  made  loads  for  two  teams;  but  when 
we  purposed  returning  to  the  same  locality  the  following 
year,  we  had  it  stored,  if  possible,  at  some  convenient 
place.  Having  made  our  camp  and  put  things  in  order 
the  "boys"  (we  were  all  boys  when  we  got  into  the  wil- 
derness) hunted,  fished  or  strolled,  with  only  one  respon- 
sibility upon  them :  that  they  must  provide  the  cook  with 
fresh  meat. 

The  pioneers  or  originators  of  this  club  were,  at  the 
time  I  joined,  Richard  Hadley,  of  Marengo;  O.  F.  But- 
ler, of  McHenry;  D.  E.  Wood  and  Alfred  Bosworth,  of 
Elgin.  A.  J.  Mann,  Judge  Ranstead  and  W.  T.  Wait, 
of  Elgin;  Hiram  Ellwood  and  J.  H.  Lewis,  of  DeKalb; 
John  Syme  and  E.  J.  Baker,  of  Farm  Implement  News, 
and  Dr.  William  Cuthbertson,  of  Chicago,  joined  later. 
I  particularly  mention  the  names  of  these  gentlemen  be- 
cause I  believe  that  no  like  number,  having  diverse  occu- 
pations, opinions  and  interests,  could  be  gathered  into 
such  close  companionship  and  be  more  congenial  or  more 
ready  to  contribute  to  each  other's  pleasure  than  they 
were.  I  look  back  to  my  association  with  them  in  these 
outings  as  among  the  most  care-free  and  happiest  occa- 
sions of  my  life.  Hadley,  Ellwood,  Syme  and  Mann 
have  gone  forward  to  the  happy  hunting  grounds,  and 


Recollections  1837—1910  265 

others  of  us  must  soon  follow. 

We  were  never  all  in  the  woods  at  one  time,  but  enough 
of  us  would  go  every  year  to  make  up  a  sufficiently  full 
party.  And  what  delightful  times  we  had !  Hunting  and 
fishing  and  boating;  strolling  in  the  woods  and  groves; 
stalking,  shooting  and  bringing  in  the  game ;  sitting  near 
a  runway  and  listening  to  the  silence  while  awaiting  the 
appearance  of  a  deer,  or  lying  in  tent  and  harkening  to 
the  roar  of  a  storm  as  it  swept  through  the  forest — waltz- 
ing with  the  tall  tree-tops  and  rocking  the  "vaulted 
groves."  And  when  toward  evening  we  gathered  in 
from  the  woods  or  lake,  what  appetites  we  had,  and  how 
we  enjoyed  the  tales  of  the  day's  adventures,  and  how 
soon  we  sought  rest  on  our  blanket  beds,  laid  upon  the 
well  padded  ground,  to  sleep  soundly  the  long  night 
through.  Alas,  we  can  have  no  return  of  those  happy 
days. 

These  meetings  in  the  woods  were  regularly  main- 
tained for  about  fifteen  years,  when  inability  to  find  loca- 
tions not  over-run  by  amateur  hunters,  changes  in  the 
laws  covering  the  open  season,  and  decreasing  attend- 
ance on  account  of  death,  age  and  infirmity,  broke  up  the 
organization.  I  held  my  place  some  ten  or  twelve  years 
and  then  dropped  out  because  I  was  getting  too  old  for 
such  rough  trips,  and  also  because  the  instinctive  dispo- 
sition to  hunt  and  slay,  inherited  from  our  savage  ances- 
tors, was  weakening  with  age  or  my  conscience  was  be- 
coming awakened  to  the  cruelty  of  the  sport.  In  justice 
to  the  members  of  our  club  I  will  add,  that,  when  camp 
was  well  provided  with  meat,  hunting  and  fishing  were 
not  strenuously  prosecuted ;  and  little  or  no  game  was 
killed  merely  for  the  sport  of  shooting. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

MY  LITTLE  PARK — SUCCESSFUL  BREEDING  OF  DEER — WHAT 
THEY  EAT — BEST  PARK  FENCE  FOR  DEER — BAD  LUCK 
WITH  ANTELOPES THE  PLAYFUL  BUFFALO,  HIS  LONG- 
ING FOR  COMPANY  AND  FIGHT  WITH  THE  BULL — THE 
SAND-HILL  CRANE,  HIS  BELLIGERENT  DISPOSITION  AND 

COMPANIONSHIP   WITH   CROSS  BUCK THE  WHOOPING 

CRANES,  WILD  TURKEYS  AND  WILD  GEESE. 

AS  wild  animals  and  birds  have  always  interested  me 
more  than  the  domestic,  it  occurred  to  me  a  few 
years  after  we  moved  into  this  home  that  the 
piece  of  woods,  on  the  edge  of  which  our  house  stands, 
would  make  a  nice  little  park,  wherein  I  could  keep  deer 
and  other  wild  things  as  I  might  collect  them ;  so  in  1874 
I  put  a  high,  tight  fence  around  twenty  acres,  and  began 
my  collection  with  a  pair  of  common  or  Virginia  deer, 
the  doe  from  a  neighbor  and  the  buck  from  Judge  Caton's 
park  at  Ottawa.  The  increase  was  quite  rapid,  as  ma- 
tured does  usually  have  twin  fawns,  and  in  a  few  years 
I  had  a  herd  of  twenty  or  more. 

I  soon  found  that  deer  care  little  for  grass,  unless  it 
be  fresh  and  tender,  and  even  then  they  will  turn  to 
weeds  of  any  kind,  except  thistles,  in  preference.  They 
did  very  well,  however,  in  spring  and  summer  so  long 
as  they  could  browse  the  shoots  from  the  brush  and  get 
leaves  from  the  trees;  but  in  three  or  four  years  they 
had  killed  all  the  brush  and  also  all  the  small  limbs  of 
the  trees  within  their  reach  when  standing  erect  on  their 

266 


Recollections  1837—1910  267 

hind  legs.  As  thereafter  the  grass  and  weeds  in  the 
park  did  not  furnish  them  sufficient  food  in  the  summer, 
I  had  to  give  them  oats,  which  grain  is  the  best  for  them ; 
and  I  have  regularly  continued  this  practice  since,  feed- 
ing them  oats  daily — more  or  less  as  the  conditions  or 
seasons  demanded.  In  the  fall  I  have  fed  them  pump- 
kins (their  favorite  food),  beets,  cabbages,  potatoes,  ap- 
ples, etc.,  as  any  of  these  could  most  readily  be  obtained ; 
in  the  winter  oats  and  clover  hay  and  in  late  years  alfalfa, 
which  is  the  best  fodder  for  them.  They  don't  like  corn 
fodder  and  would  starve  to  death  on  timothy  hay.  The 
summer  season,  with  its  mosquitoes,  flies,  heat  and  dried 
grass,  is  harder  on  them  than  the  winter,  the  rigors  of 
the  latter  being  borne  by  them  quite  comfortably,  appar- 
ently. 

After  several  years  the  herd  had  become  so  large  and 
the  care  and  expense  of  keeping  it  so  burdensome  that  I 
concluded  to  cut  the  number  down — by  marketing,  sell- 
ing and  giving  away — to  about  half  a  dozen,  and  to 
reduce  the  park  to  ten  acres.  I  believed  that  the  few 
would  be  as  interesting  as  the  many,  would  be  much  more 
easily  attended  and  much  less  liable  to  break  out  if  stam- 
peded. The  results  of  the  change  have  been  very  satis- 
factory. The  few  soon  became  quieter  and  more  ap- 
proachable. Their  increase,  three  or  four  each  year,  has 
been  kept  down  by  killing  for  holiday  venison  and  by 
disposing  of  fawns  when  little.  Last  year  I  took  up  a 
fawn  and  thoroughly  tamed  it  before  turning  it  back  into 
the  park;  and  by  maintaining  familiarity  with  it  since, 
the  others  have  been  encouraged  to  come  closer  and  have 
become  considerably  tamer.  They  now  always  come  at 
my  call,  my  whistle. 


268  Recollections  1837—1910 

Deer  are  very  fearful  of  dogs;  and  when  occasionally 
one  has  got  in  and  chased  them,  some  have  jumped  the 
old  board  fence — which  was  eight  and  a  half  feet  high. 
It  was  replaced  several  years  ago  by  woven  wire,  six  feet 
high.  No  deer  has  ever  gone  over  it.  They  will  jump 
against  it  when  frightened,  but  apparently  they  do  not 
see  it  plainly  enough  to  make  such  spring  as  would  carry 
them  over.  Their  inhabitiveness  is  well  developed. 
When  forced  out  they  return  as  soon  as  their  fright  is 
over  and  try  to  get  in  by  running  along  the  fence,  seek- 
ing an  opening,  and  occasionally  one  has  jumped  back. 
They  will  not  leave  unless  chased  away  by  dogs.  I  have 
lost  several  in  that  way. 

Deer  can  be  bred  and  raised  as  easily  as  sheep.  The 
first  consideration  is  a  dog-tight,  woven  wire  fence  at 
least  six  feet  high,  enclosing  a  piece  of  ground  roomy 
enough  for  exercise,  for  their  running  and  playing.  I 
have  already  told  what  they  should  be  fed.  They  are 
light  eaters  but  need  strong  food.  Mine  take  about  twelve 
bushels  of  oats  per  head  during  the  year — very  little  in 
the  spring  after  grass  starts,  more  in  the  summer,  little 
in  the  fall  and  much,  comparatively,  in  the  winter.  They 
drink  frequently  in  hot  or  warm  weather,  but  seldom 
and  very  little  in  the  winter;  then  they  will  refuse  water 
for  days  at  a  time,  even  when  there  is  no  snow  on  the 
ground.  They  need  no  shelter  other  than  a  wind-break 
in  winter.  Mine  refuse  to  go  under  the  shed  I  prepared 
for  them  and  have  always  chosen  their  own  beds,  though 
sometimes  they  will  lie  on  hay  or  straw  thrown  out  to 
them.  As  they  originally  came  from  the  southwest,  have 
been  crossed  with  bucks  from  that  direction  and  have 
too  limited  a  range,  they  are  much  smaller  than  the  north- 


Recollections  1837—1910  269 

ern  deer;  but  they  are  healthy,  breed  well  and  fatten 
quickly  in  the  fall,  especially  if  they  can  have  pump- 
kins. It  is  now  thirty-six  years  since  I  began  raising 
them  and  I  have  never  lost  one  by  disease. 

Does  drop  their  fawns  along  in  the  fore  part  of  June, 
and  being  undisturbed  in  the  woods  they  grow  up  half 
wild  and  shy  of  strangers,  never  allowing  a  close  ap- 
proach. Thus  bred  the  bucks  are  never  dangerous ;  but 
if  brought  up  by  hand  they  become  very  tame  and  saucy, 
and  often  vicious  as  they  grow  old.  A  tame  doe  usually 
is  gentle  and  affectionate.  These  are  called  red  deer  by 
some  because  their  coat  is  of  a  light  red  color  in  the 
summer,  but  in  the  fall  and  winter  it  is  of  a  silver  gray, 
shading  into  white  and  black  or  dark  markings.  Fawns 
change  their  spotted  coats  for  the  gray  in  September.  A 
young  fawn  is  the  most  beautiful  and  most  winsome  of 
all  animals. 

The  beauty  and  graceful  action  of  antelopes,  as  I  had 
seen  them  on  the  plains,  gave  me  a  desire  to  have  a  pair 
of  them  in  the  park.  The  result  of  my  application  to 
several  friends  in  Colorado  was  that  five  were  sent  to  me. 
They  were  handsome  creatures,  but  the  feed  or  climate 
did  not  agree  with  them.  They  were  never  sprightly  and 
playful  like  the  deer,  and  soon  became  notably  dull  and 
inactive.  In  answer  to  my  inquiries  Judge  Caton  told 
me  he  had  never  had  any  luck  with  them;  that  of  the 
several  he  had  placed  in  his  park  not  one  had  lived 
eighteen  months ;  that  they  had  been  accustomed  to  alkali 
in  their  feed  on  the  plains,  and  the  lack  of  it  here  sub- 
jected them  to  a  cutaneous  disease  which  killed  them  all. 
He  advised  me  to  give  them  soda  freely  in  their  feed ; 
I  did  so,  but  they  all  got  scabby  and  died  within  two 


270  Recollections  1837—1910 

years.  A  black  tailed  deer  that  I  obtained  two  or  three 
years  later  died  in  the  same  way. 

The  most  interesting  animal  I  ever  had  in  the  park  was 
a  buffalo.  I  bought  him  from  a  showman.  He  was  a 
great  shaggy  fellow,  a  stag,  but  as  gentle  and  playful  as 
a  calf.  He  was  always  ready  for  company,  whether  of 
man  or  beast.  He  would  look  his  invitation  to  me  to 
come  into  the  park  and  play  with  him,  and  when  I  went 
in  he  would  prance  around  and  follow  me  like  a  dog.  He 
tried  to  be  friendly  with  the  deer,  but  they  would  not 
associate  with  him.  He  would  play  by  himself,  capering 
and  throwing  up  things  with  his  horns.  One  day  I  saw 
him  tossing  or  trying  to  toss  a  twelve-foot  fence  board, 
under  which  he  could  not  easily  get  his  horns;  so  I  gave 
him  a  pole  of  about  the  same  length  and  he  had  lots  of 
fun  with  it,  tossing  it  high  and  dodging  it  as  it  fell. 

Not  long  after  getting  him  I  put  a  two  year  old  colt 
in  the  park.  After  a  few  days  the  colt  responded  to  his 
advances  and  they  became  great  friends.  They  ate  and 
played  together  and  slept  near  each  other.  Their  pranks 
were  quite  entertaining.  Horses  were  generally  afraid 
of  him  and  some  were  frightened  if  they  caught  his 
scent;  in  consequence  I  had  to  put  a  fence  across  the 
end  of  the  park  next  the  road  to  keep  him  back.  The 
second  year  I  took  the  colt  out.  The  buffalo's  distress  and 
lonesomeness  were  so  manifest  that  one  day  in  pity  of  him 
I  led  him  over  to  the  pasture  and  turned  him  loose  with 
the  cattle.  They  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  him. 
He  would  approach  and  they  would  move  off.  His  ac- 
tion was  really  pleading;  it  was  like  that  of  a  strange 
negro  boy  trying  to  make  up  to  a  lot  of  white  children. 
The  bull,  a  big  surly  fellow,  that  later  became  so  vicious 


I 


Recollections  1837—1910  271 

that  I  had  to  dispose  of  him,  stood  aloof  and  watched 
the  proceedings  for  a  short  time  and  then  made  for  the 
stranger.  He  came  forward  pawing  and  bellowing,  the 
buffalo  acting  as  if  curious  to  know  what  he  meant.  He 
partly  dodged  the  first  charge  of  the  bull,  and  then  fully 
aroused  he  met  and  returned  the  second  with  such  vigor 
that  the  bull  was  forced  back  and  around  so  that  the 
buffalo  catching  him  in  the  side  turned  him  over.  He 
scrambled  up  and  ran  toward  the  rest  of  the  cattle.  I 
left  the  buffalo  there ;  but  in  an  hour  or  so,  having  failed 
to  make  friends  of  the  cattle,  he  came  scampering  back, 
leaping  the  intervening  fences.  He  learned  later  to  break 
the  park  fence  and  I  had  to  sell  him — to  another  show- 
man. 

The  first  wild  bird  that  I  placed  in  the  park  was  a  sand- 
hill crane.  Years  before,  when  he  was  captured,  his  wing 
had  been  crippled  so  that  he  could  not  fly ;  in  consequence, 
apparently,  he  was  abnormally  active  on  his  legs.  We 
called  him  Tim.  He  was  big,  strong,  fearless  and  know- 
ing; he  made  himself  boss  of  the  grounds  at  once  and 
held  that  position  for  several  years — until  I  killed  him. 
He  would  attack  deer,  buffalo  or  horse,  if  either  got  in 
his  way,  but  never  a  person.  Despite  his  belligerent  dis- 
position he  wanted  companionship,  like  all  other  ani- 
mals and  birds  I  have  known.  His  first  mate  was  a 
cross  buck,  one  that  had  been  brought  up  by  hand.  We 
had  named  him  Billy.  Their  friendship  began  with  mu- 
tual forbearance  on  the  feeding  ground;  it  seemed  that 
one  respected  the  horns  and  the  other  the  big  sharp  bill. 
They  soon  began  to  stroll  off  together  and  in  course  of 
a  month  or  two  they  were  inseparable  companions — where 
one  was  there  the  other  was. 


272  Recollections  1837—1910 

One  day  a  visitor  was  standing  by  the  gate  when  the 
buck  came  up  and  thrust  his  horns  through.  The  man 
grabbed  them  and  held  on.  Just  then  the  crane  came 
walking  along  the  fence-path,  across  which  stood  the 
deer.  Tim  hesitated  a  moment  as  if  to  give  Billy  time 
to  get  out  of  the  way ;  but  as  Billy  didn't  Tim  gave  him  a 
sharp  dig  with  his  bill.  The  buck  jerked  loose  from  the 
man  and  turned  on  the  crane.  As  he  charged  with  low- 
ered horns  they  went  under  the  crane  and  threw  the 
long  legged  bird  to  the  rear  and  astride  his  back,  where 
it  clung,  yelling  its  notes  of  rage  and  defiance.  This  was 
too  much  for  Billy  and  he  broke  for  the  tall  timber,  dis- 
mounting his  rider  in  a  couple  of  jumps.  For  several 
days  after  they  cautiously  approached  the  feeding  ground 
from  opposite  sides  and,  avoiding  each  other  while  feed- 
ing, they  departed  separately.  But  soon  they  were  around 
together  as  before.  Billy  was  killed  by  lightning  not  long 
after. 

Tim  fully  acknowledged  subjection  to  me,  and  he  was 
generally  civil  to  the  other  bird  occupants  of  the  park,  the 
wild  turkeys  and  geese  which  I  put  in  later.  Between 
him  and  the  wild  geese  there  were  never  any  conflicts, 
owing  probably  to  the  close  association  of  these  birds 
when  at  large.  But  he  hated  animal  intruders  and  at- 
tacked the  buffalo,  the  colt  and  even  horses  when  first 
turned  in.  Sometimes  he  continued  his  assaults  so  long 
that  I  had  to  interfere.  Usually  after  I  had  clubbed 
and  chased  him  off  he  desisted.  Several  times  in  the 
night,  hearing  his  war  cry  and  an  animal  running,  I 
have  gone  out  and  beaten  him  off.  And  occasionally  he 
would  have  fits  of  ungovernable  rage,  and  like  an  orien- 
tal running  "amuck,"  he  would  attack  everything  in  his 


Recollections  1837—1910  273 

way.  If  I  was  home  and  heard  his  savage  croaks,  when 
thus  on  the  war  path,  I  would  drive  him  into  the  "catch- 
ing" corner  and  there  grab  and  give  him  a  thorough 
drubbing,  after  which  he  would  sneak  off  and  behave 
himself.  He  had  been  in  the  park  about  fifteen  years 
— never  having  grown  older,  apparently — when  one  of 
these  fits  cost  him  his  life.  It  was  along  in  May  when  the 
turkey  mothers  were  leading  their  young  that,  on  re- 
turning from  the  office,  I  heard  a  big  rumpus  in  the  park 
and  Tim's  croak  above  the  noise.  I  ran  in  and  found 
him  at  work  on  the  turkeys,  chasing  and  killing  the  young 
ones  and  fighting  their  mothers.  I  went  for  him  with  a 
club  and  his  neck  was  soon  broken.  The  count  of  what 
were  left  of  the  flocks,  disclosed  a  loss  of  twenty-three, 
dead  and  missing. 

A  year  or  two  after  Billy's  death,  and  long  before  the 
tragedy  of  the  turkeys,  I  obtained  from  Minnesota  a 
couple  of  young  whooping  cranes.  When  fully  matured 
the  whooping  crane  is  the  tallest  of  American  birds  and 
almost  the  largest.  Its  plumage  is  white  with  black  tips 
on  the  wings.  By  some  it  is  called  the  American  ostrich ; 
but  there  is  little  resemblance  to  the  real  ostrich,  except 
in  the  beauty  of  the  tail  feathers.  Tim  welcomed  them 
into  the  park.  They  were  gentle  and  tractable,  and  were 
becoming  used  to  their  new  surroundings  when  the  tur- 
keys, during  a  severe  storm,  attacked  the  younger  of  the 
two  and  pounded  it  so  that  it  died  within  a  few  days.  I 
killed  the  sauciest  of  the  gobblers  and  looked  after  the 
remaining  whooper  carefully.  It  did  well,  and  grew  to 
be  an  unusually  large  and  handsome  bird  of  its  kind, 
much  larger  than  the  sand-hill,  and  able,  if  it  chose,  to 
be  master  of  the  menagerie ;  but  it  was  extremely  gentle, 

19 


274  Recollections  1837—1910 

affectionate  and  inoffensive.  I  never  saw  it  manifest 
anger  at  anything.  It  was  my  pet.  When  I  went  into 
the  park  it  would  run  to  meet  me  and  often  would  stick 
its  head  and  neck  under  my  arm  and  walk  along  with  me 
chuckling  with  satisfaction.  Tim  mated  with,  it  socially. 
To  a  piece  of  high  ground,  bare  of  trees,  near  the  road, 
they  often  resorted  for  their  dance,  their  preferred  time 
for  it  being  the  still  spell  that  usually  precedes  a  storm. 
It  was  an  extraordinary  performance,  always  interesting 
to  the  family  and  astonishing  to  the  passers-by.  This 
crane  was  so  tame  and  contented  that  I  had  been  quite 
careless  about  clipping  its  wings  about  the  time  of  Tim's 
death.  It  was  evidently  unsettled  by  the  loss  of  its  mate, 
for  the  very  next  day  it  flopped  over  the  fence  and  was 
shot  by  "the  boy  behind  the  gun,"  to  whom  mainly  the 
country  owes  the  present  scarcity  of  wild  birds. 

The  second  spring  after  establishing  the  park  I  ob- 
tained a  trio  of  wild  turkeys  from  Judge  Caton  and  a 
pair  from  a  friend  in  Kansas.  At  that  time  the  timber, 
with  which  my  grove  was  connected,  extended  along  the 
banks  of  the  Kishwaukee  unbroken  for  several  miles. 
Following  the  judge's  direction  I  clipped  a  wing  on  each 
of  the  gobblers,  so  that  they  could  not  get  out  of  the 
park,  and  put  them  all  in.  The  hens  soon  disappeared 
and  we  saw  them  no  more  until  September,  when  they 
were  found,  with  their  half  grown  broods,  twenty-five  or 
thirty  in  all,  running  along  the  fence  and  trying,  evi- 
dently, to  get  to  the  gobblers.  We  carefully  worked 
them  into  the  park,  where  they  were  welcomed  by  the 
gobblers,  and,  being  fed  grain  at  once  and  thereafter, 
they  made  no  effort  to  get  out.  The  hens  had  nested  in 
the  brush  of  the  wood,  had  brought  forth  and  maintained 


Recollections  1837—1910  275 

their  young  through  the  summer  and  had  come  home  to 
their  waiting  husbands. 

I  followed  this  plan  of  raising  them  several  years,  until 
the  timber  was  cut  down  and  the  brush  destroyed  by 
pasturage.  It  was  very  successful.  The  birds  maintained 
their  trim,  rangy  forms  and  glossy  plumage,  and  when 
all  were  in  I  had  flocks  of  75  to  100.  They  made  a 
beautiful  show.  We  did  not  put  them  on  the  market; 
but  ate  them,  distributed  them  among  our  friends  and 
kept  a  considerable  flock  for  the  succeeding  year.  As  the 
timber  was  being  cleared  off  and  their  cover  decreased, 
I  reduced  the  number,  and  finally  had  to  confine  them 
to  the  park,  clipping  the  hens  as  well  as  the  gobblers. 
They  deteriorated  rapidly  after  their  range  had  been 
thus  limited,  losing  in  size,  form  and  plumage.  Then  a 
disease  began  to  take  off  the  young  and  continued  in- 
creasingly from  year  to  year  until  we  could  not  bring 
any  to  maturity.  Turkeys  cannot  be  raised  successfully 
without  wide  range. 

Popularly  a  goose  is  the  symbol  of  folly.  But  I  have 
heard  old  hunters  say  that  "a  wild  goose  is  the  wisest 
bird  that  flies,"  and  my  experience  with  both  tame  and 
wild  geese  prompts  me  to  say  that  a  goose  shows  more 
sagacity  and  higher  traits  or  qualities  than  any  other  of 
the  domestic  or  game  birds.  They  manifest  more  sense 
in  providing  food  and  in  protecting  their  young;  they 
are  more  alert  to  danger  and  more  cunning  in  avoiding  it, 
and  the  gander  is  more  devoted  to  his  mate  and  their 
brood  and  braver  in  their  defense.  I  had  several  wild 
geese,  that  were  caught  when  wounded,  but  they  all 
managed  to  get  away,  soon  or  late.  Next,  I  got  a  pair 
that  had  been  hatched  out  from  wild  eggs  under  a  tame 


276  Recollections  1837—1910 

goose,  and  later  I  put  a  wild  goose  with  broken  wing  in 
with  them.  These  were  the  last  of  my  wild  birds.  The 
story  of  their  long  life  in  the  park  and  of  the  pitiful 
death  of  the  old  wild  goose,  the  last  of  the  three,  was 
written  by  me  for  a  Chicago  paper  at  the  time,  about 
twenty  years  ago.  I  give  it  now  as  it  was  published 
then,  believing  that  it  is  just  as  interesting  now  as  it 
was  then. 


CHAPTER  XL. 
A  WILD  GOOSE  STORY. 

BY  C.  W.  MARSH. 

(t  'T^OOR  old  goosey,  poor  old  goosey,'  sobbed  my 
r^  niece  as  she  softly  stroked  the  head  and  neck, 

•*•  extended  across  her  lap,  of  the  dying  bird.  The 
poor  old  thing  seemed  to  understand  the  sympathetic 
words  and  caresses,  for  she  quietly  maintained  her  posi- 
tion, breathing  slowly  and  quite  regularly  for  a  few  min- 
utes and  until  the  final  moment  came,  when  she  struggled 
to  her  feet,  gave  a  weak,  convulsive  honk,  and  tumbled 
forward  dead. 

"And  this  is  her  story:  About  fifteen  years  ago  a 
friend  winged  a  wild  goose,  and  knowing  that  I  had  a 
little  park,  or  a  few  acres  inclosed  with  a  high,  tight  fence, 
in  which  were  kept  some  wild  animals  and  fowls,  he 
forwarded  the  wounded  bird,  and  it  was  dropped  in 
among  the  others.  I  had  at  the  time  a  pair  of  geese  of 
the  same  variety,  Canada  honkers,  that  had  been  raised 
from  the  eggs  and  were  very  tame.  They  resented  the 
stranger's  intrusion,  and  always  held  her  aloof;  indeed, 
they  never  established  any  friendship  or  familiarity  with 
her.  She  was  quiet  and  inoffensive,  and  manifested  her 
desire  for  companionship  by  hanging  about  them  as 
closely  as  they  would  allow,  and  when  they  rested,  day 
or  night,  she  could  always  be  found  near,  and  with  her 
head  toward  them.  Thus  she  led  a  lonely  sort  of  life 

277 


278  Recollections  1837—1910 

for  a  couple  of  years.  Her  wing  had  healed,  but  so 
distorted  that  she  was  quite  deformed  as  well  as  crip- 
pled. 

"It  has  been  my  practice  to  run  these  wild  fowls  into 
an  inclosure  and  trap,  especially  prepared  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  to  clip  their  wings  each  spring  and  fall  so  that 
they  might  not  fly  away  if  so  disposed.  About  two  years 
after  this  goose  came  I  delayed  clipping  the  wings  of  the 
others  until  reminded  of  my  neglect  by  observing  that 
one,  the  goose,  had  regained  her  powers  of  flight  and 
was  making  excursions  outside,  and  before  I  could  man- 
age to  catch  her,  while  thus  enjoying  her  freedom,  she 
was  shot.  The  gander,  whose  wings  meantime  had  been 
cut,  anxiously  awaited  the  return  of  his  mate,  not  ceasing 
his  calls  for  her  until  several  days  had  elapsed ;  then  he 
began  to  make  friends  with  the  stranger,  who  responsively 
met  his  advances  and  they  became  inseparable  companions 
thereafter.  These  geese  do  not  breed  in  captivity. 

"Whether  touched  by  the  loss  of  his  first  wife  or  in- 
fluenced by  the  crippled  condition  and  amiability  of  the 
second,  it  is  certain  that  he  treated  the  latter  with  greater 
consideration.  His  solicitude  for  her  welfare  was  ap- 
parent in  every  movement.  On  the  feed  ground — where 
the  deer,  cranes  and  turkeys  fed  with  the  geese — he  took 
his  place  in  front  of  her  and  kept  them  all  at  a  respectful 
distance  while  she  was  eating.  It  was  amusing  as  well 
as  annoying  to  see  him  charge  upon  the  turkeys  and  deer 
and  send  them  scampering  away.  Then  he  would  return 
to  the  old  goose,  proudly  bragging  of  his  exploits,  and 
she  would  respond  with  words  of  praise  or  congratula- 
tion. What  else?  Nothing  could  be  plainer  than  that 
they  talked  to  and  understood  each  other. 


Recollections  1837—1910  279 

"His  mastery  of  the  animals  in  the  park  and  increasing 
years  emboldened  him  to  attack  women  and  children, 
and  finally  he  did  not  hesitate  to  face  and  fight  a  man, 
especially  a  stranger  (all  these  birds  and  animals  at  once 
distinguish  a  stranger  from  a  person  belonging  to  the 
place),  if  the  man  attempted  to  approach  or  disturb  his 
old  wife.  Last  fall  he  ventured  finally  to  attack  me,  and, 
not  vanquished  by  the  first  shaking  and  cuffing  that  I 
gave  him,  he  ventured  to  battle  the  second  and  third 
time,  and  when  satisfied  that  he  was  getting  the  worst 
of  it,  he  retired  with  his  'face  to  the  foe/  backing  and 
tacking  and  sounding  his  notes  of  defiance  until  he 
reached  the  goose,  which  had  been  quietly  watching  the 
conflict ;  then  they  talked  the  matter  over,  and  she  appar- 
ently advised  him  that  discretion  in  this  case  was  better 
than  valor,  for  they  moved  slowly  away,  the  gander  cov- 
ering the  retreat.  Thereafter  he  gave  me  the  right  of 
way  without  dispute.  His  pugnacity  and  bravery,  while 
it  afforded  visitors  much  amusement,  also  inspired  re- 
spect because  of  his  chivalrous  defense  of  his  crippled 
mate. 

"And  thus,  as  the  years  passed  by,  together  they  wel- 
comed the  succeeding  springs  and  waddled  over  the 
lawn,  affectionately  gabbling  to  each  other  as  they  sought 
the  first  tender  shoots  of  herb  and  grass;  together  they 
enjoyed  the  shade  in  summer,  and  bathed,  and  plumed 
themselves  in  the  falling  rain;  and  as  cold  weather  re- 
turned they  found  the  sunny  places,  and  together  they 
endured  the  storms  and  frosts  of  winter. 

"I  had  regularly  clipped  the  wings  of  the  gander  until 
this  spring,  when  again  that  duty  was  neglected  so  long 
that  he  regained  his  flight  and  could  rise  above  pursuit; 


280  Recollections  1837—1910 

and,  evidently  remembering  former  operations  of  the 
kind,  he  refused  to  be  cajoled  into  the  trap.  At  first 
he  made  short  excursions  outside,  would  rise  and  circle 
above  the  trees,  honking  loudly,  and  then  return  to  his 
mate,  trying  to  get  her  to  accompany  him ;  but  she  could 
only  watch  his  proud  flight,  answer  his  honks  and  wel- 
come his  returns.  As  he  made  wider  excursions  and  was 
longer  absent  her  uneasiness  became  quite  marked.  She 
took  the  most  open  and  elevated  position,  and,  with  head 
erect,  watched  and  called ;  and  when  she  caught  the  sound 
of  his  returning  honk  she  sent  forth  joyful  cries  and  re- 
ceived him  with  various  manifestations  of  pleasure. 
These  exhibitions  were  extremely  interesting,  they  were 
so  like  human  actions  and  expressions  of  feeling.  Finally 
one  morning  he  soared  away  to  return  no  more.  Prob- 
ably he  met  the  fate  that  befell  the  other  several  years 
before. 

"All  that  day  the  old  goose  maintained  her  position 
of  expectancy  upon  the  open  ground,  calling,  watching, 
and  waiting.  Her  uneasiness  increased  as  night  ap- 
proached, when,  evidently  despairing  of  his  return,  she 
started  out  to  find  him.  She  thoroughly  hunted  through 
the  park,  crossing  and  recrossing,  and  having  satisfied 
herself  that  he  could  not  be  found  within,  she  went  to 
the  fence  and  followed  that  around,  calling  loudly  every 
few  moments.  She  kept  this  up  all  through  the  night. 
It  took  her  about  half  an  hour  to  make  the  circuit,  as 
from  our  bedroom  we  could  tell  how  she  was  moving — 
her  calls  growing  more  distinct  as  she  passed  along  the 
fence  on  the  side  nearest,  and  more  faint  as  she  went 
on  by  until  lost,  to  be  caught  again  on  the  upper  side  as 
she  returned.  My  wife  became  so  interested  in  the  be- 


Recollections  1837—1910  281 

reavement  of  the  poor  old  bird  that  she  fell  to  watching 
for  the  returning  cries  and  could  not  sleep.  Next  morn- 
ing she  was  still  traveling  along  the  fence.  She  would 
walk  a  few  rods,  stop,  call,  and  listen,  and  then  move 
on.  I  noticed  that  she  invariably  followed  the  course  of 
the  sun  in  her  circuits  of  the  park,  turning  always  to 
the  right.  She  continued  these  endless  journeys  during 
this  and  the  five  succeeding  days  and  nights,  for  when- 
ever either  of  us  was  awake  we  would  hear  the  passing, 
plaintive  cries.  Occasionally  she  would  rest  beside  the 
fence,  but  she  never  came  to  the  feed  ground  and  re- 
fused to  eat  the  grain  I  threw  before  her.  The  night 
before  she  died  my  wife  awoke  me,  crying  that  she  could 
not  stand  this  any  longer,  and  that  I  must  kill  the  goose 
and  end  her  misery.  To  our  ears  it  appeared  that  she 
was  resting  at  last  on  the  ground  where  she  and  her  mate 
used  to  pass  the  nights,  and  that  the  feeble,  recurrent 
calls  were  emitted  in  her  sleep.  Next  morning  I  found 
her  lying  on  her  breast  too  weak  to  move  out  of  my  way 
— in  fact  then  dying.  Her  devoted  search,  and  her  grief 
for  her  loved  and  lost  had  worn  her  out,  and  she  was 
nearing  that  bourne  or  resting  ground  where  roaring 
gun  and  crashing  shot  can  not  disturb  the  peace  nor 
destroy  the  mates  of  faithful  geese.  So  I  called  to  the 
family  and  we  gathered  around  her.  My  niece  sat  down 
upon  the  leaves  and  took  the  poor  old  bird  upon  her  lap, 
where  soon  she  died,  while  tears  of  sympathy  and  sorrow 
fell  from  the  eyes  of  all. 

"I  remembered  that,  in  the  years  long  past  when  the 
children  were  home,  they  had  established  a  little  grave- 
yard wherein  were  deposited  the  bodies  of  their  dead 
pets.  Many  a  sorrowful  funeral  had  taken  place  under 


282  Recollections  1837—1910 

the  branches  of  the  big  walnut  tree,  and  the  little  graves, 
long  since  neglected  and  overgrown,  had  been  sprinkled 
with  the  honest  tears  of  the  childish  mourners.  So  there 
we  took  the  goose  and  among  the  ashes  of  the  children's 
dead  we  buried  her. 

"Man,  when  first  he  crudely  fashioned  religious  and 
civil  systems  for  his  guidance,  had  no  conception  of  the 
universe  as  it  is,  and  he  looked  out  upon  but  a  small 
portion  of  the  world.  What  came  within  his  limited  vis- 
ion he  supposed  to  be  the  center  of  all,  with  the  sun, 
moon,  and  stars  to  heat,  light,  and  adorn  it.  With  such 
narrow  views,  yet  dimly  conscious  of  his  own  powers  and 
possibilities, '  he  could  easily  conceive  that  all  was  made 
for  him,  subject  only  to  some  unknown  being  or  beings 
above  of  similar  nature,  but  far  more  powerful,  because 
they  worked  through  the  unseen  and  mysterious  forces 
of  nature ;  so,  knowing  that  his  life  and  death  were  con- 
trolled by  these  mysterious  laws,  specially  directed,  as  he 
supposed,  by  the  higher  beings,  he  arrogated  to  himself 
full  control,  including  life  and  death,  of  all  the  lower  living 
things.  For  which  reason  chiefly,  perhaps,  the  rights  of 
the  latter  have  never  been  sufficiently  considered  nor  re- 
spected, and  cruelty  to  animals  has  been  so  generally  prac- 
ticed; and  even  now,  with  our  advanced  civilization,  we 
little  heed  the  sufferings,  the  cries,  and  the  piteous  appeals 
of  the  'dumb  brutes/  so  called.  But  when  one  looks  up  to 
the  starry  heavens  and  beholds  the  many  'other  worlds 
than  ours,'  he  can  realize  how  insignificant,  comparatively, 
is  this,  and  he  may  imagine  that  the  difference  between 
man  and  other  animals  is  so  little,  when  contemplating  the 
universe,  that  the  ears  of  the  Great  Creator  of  all  are 
just  as  open  to  the  language  of  beasts  and  birds  as  of 


Recollections  1837—1910  283 

men ;  that  to  him  the  social  gabble  of  two  old  geese  may 
be  as  sensible  and  important  as  tea-table  gossip  or  their 
angry  clatter  as  political  discussion;  and  that  the  cries 
which  pain  and  sorrow  wring  from  the  more  defenseless 
animals  reach  as  high  as  like  expressions  of  human  suf- 
fering. Who  thinks  or  dreams  thus  will  be  careful  to 
exercise  this  power — under  the  original  law  that  might 
makes  right — with  mercy  to  all  lower  animals  and  in 
such  manner  as  to  avoid  all  unnecessary  pain ;  for  that 
they  have  the  capacity  to  suffer,  besides  physical  pain, 
deep  sorrows  and  griefs  that  kill,  has  often  been  dem- 
onstrated and  is  apparent  to  every  one  who  tries  to  under- 
stand them. 

"From  my  desk  I  look  out  upon  the  little  fresh  mound 
that  marks  the  last  resting  place  of  the  faithful  bird,  and 
I  am  reminded  that  in  a  few  years,  each  succeeding  seem- 
ingly shorter,  a  like  though  somewhat  larger  mound  must 
cover  this  worn-out  body.  The  memory  and  the  mound 
of  one  may  be  effaced  somewhat  sooner  than  those  of 
the  other,  but  in  100  years — one  throb  of  eternity — man 
and  goose  will  be  equal  before  the  dwellers  then,  and 
neither  of  as  much  consequence  to  them  as  the  dust 
that  may  be  stirred  by  a  passing  breeze." 


CHAPTER  XLL 

REGULAR  OUTSIDE  WORK  NECESSARY  FOR  HEALTH  ANE 
STRENGTH A  LITTLE  ABOUT  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS- 
ABUSE  OF  THE  HORSE — INDIVIDUAL  CHARACTERISTICS 
OF  ANIMALS. 

HAVING  lost  my  wild  birds  so  disastrously  I  made 
no  effort  to  obtain  others;  and,  as  the  deer  hac 
always  done  well  and  given  no  trouble,  they  were 
left  in  full  possession  of  the  park.  Now,  some  may  thinl< 
that  I  have  said  too  much  about  these  animals  and  birds 
but  they  have  been  so  very  much  to  me,  and  they  fill  sc 
distinct  a  place  in  my  recollections,  that  I  could  not  pass 
them  by  without  due  notice.  Daily  attention — when  al 
home  and  well — to  their  wants  and  doings,  called  me  oul 
into  the  fresh  air,  provided  me  with  regular  exercise  anc 
diverted  my  mind  from  business  cares  and  perplexities 
I  have  no  doubt  that  my  present  strength  and  activity  oi 
body  are  due  largely  to  the  care  of  this  park  and  its  in- 
mates and  to  my  work  on  the  grounds. 

It  may  be  asked,  "Why  did  not  you-  give  the  like  atten- 
tion to  domestic  animals  and  birds,  in  which  you  coulc 
have  found  profit  as  well  as  exercise  and  diversion  ?"  M) 
answer  is,  that  I  had  been  familiar  with  them  since  child- 
hood and  had  no  curiosity  to  satisfy  regarding  them 
With  the  exception  of  the  dog,  which  is  the  only  animal 
that  will  leave  its  kind  and  follow  man  through  love  oJ 
him,  domestication  has  dulled  their  faculties  and  destroyed 
their  alertness.  Popularly  the  horse  is  regarded  as  the 
noblest  and  most  intelligent  of  our  domestic  animals, 
He  is  the  handsomest  and  most  spirited,  but  he  has  less 

284 


Recollections  1837—1910  285 

sense  than  any  of  them.  His  most  notable  trait  is  his 
remembrance  of  home.  When  a  horse  gets  into  trouble 
he  loses  his  head  and  becomes  merely  a  wrecking  machine. 
For  instance,  if  he  puts  his  foot  over  a  barbed  wire,  he 
does  not  know  enough  to  put  it  back,  but  jerks  and  strug- 
gles until  he  maims  or  kills  himself,  while  a  cow  or 
other  animal  of  the  kind,  if  it  gets  into  such  a  scrape, 
carefully  works  its  way  out  and  avoids  the  danger  there- 
after. Story  books  tell  of  the  horse's  love  for  and  devo- 
tion to  his  master.  According  to  my  experience  the  horse 
has  little  or  no  sentiment  for  any  one  except,  his  driver, 
and  that  is  of  fear;  that  when  he  comes  voluntarily  to 
man  it  is  for  food  or  favor  and  not  through  love.  He 
loves  liberty  and  the  companionship  of  his  fellows,  but 
he  is  held  as  a  slave — bound,  beaten,  driven  and  confined. 
No  other  animal  is  fonder  of  play,  and  none  is  worked 
so  hard  and  continuously.  In  short,  no  other  animal 
suffers  such  abuse  from  man  as  the  horse;  and  with  his 
strength  if  he  had  half  the  sense  of  a  dog  he  would  not 
submit  to  it.  Of  course  I  am  considering  the  average 
horse. 

Like  human  beings,  birds  and  animals  have  their  indi- 
vidual characteristics,  and  these  are  more  sharply  defined 
in  the  wild  than  in  the  tame,  I  think.  They  vary  widely 
in  their  manifestations  of  disposition  and  of  instinct  or 
intelligence — whichever  it  may  be.  Take  the  deer  for  in- 
stance :  They  manifest  plainly  their  distinctive  traits,  are 
respectively  bold,  timid,  irritable,  gentle,  selfish,  dainty, 
greedy,  alert,  stupid,  sullen,  playful,  etc.,  or  may  have 
more  or  less  of  these  attributes.  Substantially  the  same 
can  be  said  of  the  domestic  animals.  Each  animal  has 
its  individual  peculiarities,  as  every  close  observer  knows. 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

DROUTH  IN  1898  FOLLOWED  BY  EXCESSIVE  COLD  IN  WINTER 
OF  1899  DESTRUCTIVE  TO  TREES  AND  SHRUBS — ROUGH 
AND  IRREGULAR  CLIMATE  OF  THIS  REGION — REVIEW  OF 
OUR  WEATHER  AS  PUBLISHED  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS  AGO. 

THE  autumn  of  1898  was  so  very  dry  that  there  was 
no  fall  growth  to  cover  the  ground  before  winter 
set  in,  and  as  no  snow  fell  the  ground  remained 
bare  and  was  deeply  frozen  when  occurred  the  hardest 
prolonged  freezing  spell  known  to  the  oldest  inhabitant. 
The  intense  cold  began  with  the  last  week  of  January 
and  continued  without  interruption  about  fifteen  days, 
during  which  time  the  weather  was  below  zero  continu- 
ously, thermometers  in  the  country  showing  a  range  of 
twenty  to  thirty  degrees  below  during  the  nights.  The 
intense  cold  and  the  deep  freezing  killed  many  trees — 
especially  the  young  and  thrifty — and  nearly  all  the 
hedges  and  shrubbery,  and  so  injured  many  more  trees 
that  they  died  during  the  succeeding  dry  years,  1901  be- 
ing one  of  the  driest  and  hottest  on  record.  Since  1901 
and  until  this  year  the  seasons  have  been  generally  wet, 
that  is,  plenty  of  rain  fell  though  not  always  just  as 
wanted.  This  year  is  remarkable  in  that  already  it  has 
broken  the  record  four  times,  having  given  us  the  long- 
est run  of  sleighing,  the  warmest  and  most  pleasant 
March,  the  worst  storm  on  advanced  vegetation — that 
of  April  23  and  24 — and  the  hottest  June. 

Because  so  much  of  my  life  was  spent  outside — in  the 

286 


Recollections  1837—1910  287 

field  and  on  the  road — and  because  my  work  and  business 
depended  so  much  upon  the  weather,  naturally  I  became 
observant  of  its  peculiarities.  The  most  notable  changes, 
the  most  remarkable  storms  or  spells,  and  the  dominant 
conditions  each  year  were  impressed  upon  my  memory; 
hence  the  weather  is  somewhat  prominent  in  these  rec- 
ollections. Northern  Illinois  or  this  "Lower  lake  re- 
gion" has  a  rough,  irregular  climate;  but  its  average  is 
favorable  to  crops  and  vegetation  and  such  average  has 
been  maintained  without  permanent  change  during  the 
long  period  of  my  residence  in  this  section,  though  it  is 
often  remarked  that  our  climate  is  changing — for  better 
or  worse  as  the  conditions  at  the  time  may  prompt. 
About  twenty-five  years  ago  I  wrote  an  article  for  a 
Chicago  newspaper  in  which  I  gave  my  weather  obser- 
vations and  records  down  to  that  time.  As  it  contains 
much  information  on  the  subject  and  may  be  interesting 
to  many  I  reproduce  it: 

"OUR  WEATHER. 
"The  couplet  from  Byron's  Childe  Harold, 

'Well  did'st  thou  speak,  Athena's  wisest  son, 
All  that  we  know  is  nothing  can  be  known.' 

might  be  appropriately  applied  to  the  weather — that  ready 
subject  of  conversation,  speculation  and  incognizance. 
Nothing  else  is  so  commonly  talked  about  yet  so  little 
comprehended.  We  use  the  weather  continually  for  salu- 
tatory conversation,  as  if  it  were  the  one  thing  about 
which  in  common  we  know  the  most,  while  really  it  is 
the  one  thing  concerning  which  we  give  or  get  no  infor- 


288  Recollections  1837—1910 

mation  whatever.  We  meet  and  say,  'It  is  a  cold  day,' 
or  hot,  or  wet,  as  the  case  may  be,  as  if  we  were  impart- 
ing some  news,  when  the  parties  addressed  are  shivering, 
sweltering  or  under  umbrellas  and  feel  and  know  the 
conditions  for  themselves.  If  we  should  say  it  is  a  cold 
day  but  it  will  be  warm  and  pleasant  next  Sunday — 
which  would  be  news  indeed — they  would  think  we  were 
jesting,  or  if  in  earnest  that  we  were  losing  our  senses. 

"Ordinarily  it  is  impossible  to  forecast  the  weather 
in  this  section  twenty-four  hours,  unless  we  are  having 
a  'bad  spell/  in  which  case  it  is  safe  to  calculate  on  its 
continuance.  The  telegraph,  through  the  signal  bureau, 
gives  us  probabilities  of  weather  and  of  approaching 
storms  a  day  or  so  in  advance,  more  or  less  reliably.  This 
is  the  only  information  at  our  command,  or  ever  will  be ; 
but  it  may  be  improved  by  experience,  so  that  approach- 
ing waves  or  currents  will  be  noted  more  quickly  and 
their  direction  and  scope  more  definitely  determined. 
(There  has  not  been  much  improvement  since  this  was 
written).  All  weather  prophets  are  humbugs  or  charla- 
tans. The  guess  of  a  wise  man  on  this  subject,  as  on 
many  others,  is  no  better  than  the  guess  of  a  fool. 

"The  writer  has  lived  in  this  section  of  the  country 
since  1849.  His  occupations  and  movements  have  been 
such  as  to  render  him  dependent  upon  the  weather,  and 
nearly  every  day  he  had  to  be  exposed  to  it,  hence  he 
necessarily  would  be  observant  of  it.  Besides,  he  has 
kept  a  record  of  the  worst  storms  and  for  many  years 
last  passed  has  noted  the  conditions  daily ;  but  his  con- 
clusions are  that  it  was  a  waste  of  time  and  care,  for  the 
old  lady  who  said  she  had  often  noticed  that  it  rained 
when  cloudy,  was  just  as  weatherwise  as  he.  However 


Recollections  1837—1910  289 

he  is  enabled  by  such  notes  to  recall  many  peculiar  ex- 
hibits of  our  climate,  and  to  make  some  observations  on 
the  subject  that  may  be  appreciated  by  those  who  notice 
the  weather. 

"People  living  comfortably  indoors,  do  not  give  much 
attention  to  the  conditions  outside,  and  few  probably  are 
prepared  to  believe  that  the  climate  of  this  section  is  the 
most  irregular  and  disagreeable  of  its  latitude,  and  is 
much  more  so  than  any  in  the  temperate  zone.  How  few 
really  pleasant  and  fully  satisfactory  days  can  one  re- 
member. They  are  exceptional  here,  and  you  pass  over 
long  lists  of  every  other  sort  to  find  them.  But  if  in 
the  spring,  summer  or  fall  you  go  to  some  other  section 
you  find  pleasant  days  there,  though  generally  when  you 
leave  here  it  is  rainy  or  muddy  or  excessively  hot  or 
chillingly  cool  or  very  windy,  and  when  you  return  you 
are  usually  met  by  one  or  other  of  these  disagreeable 
conditions. 

"Every  kind  of  weather  from  Greenland  to  the  gulf 
is  fully  represented  here  and  we  seem  to  get  the  mean- 
est, the  very  refuse  of  it  all.  We  have  no  recognized 
pleasant  season  of  the  year,  though  the  fall  months  are 
the  most  comfortable.  September  usually  gives  us  some 
pleasant  days ;  and,  if  we  get  real  Indian  summer  weather, 
October  and  sometimes  the  fore  part  of  November  furnish 
the  finest  days  of  the  year.  We  have  no  spring,  such  as 
we  read  about.  'Spring,  spring,  beautiful  spring;'  who 
can  recollect  one?  Poets  sing  of  them,  but  those  poets 
do  not  live  in  Illinois.  The  first  of  May — of  all  the 
year  'the  maddest,  merriest  day'  in  old  England,  asso- 
ciated in  our  minds  (because  of  these  confounded  poets) 
with  romping,  flower-crowned  maids,  clad  in  bright  sum- 

20 


290  Recollections  1837—1910 

mer  stuff,  dancing  on  the  velvet  green,  in  an  atmosphere 
laden  with  the  sweetness  and  freshness  of  opening  buds 
and  flowers — what  sort  of  a  day  is  it  in  northern  Illinois  ? 
We  will  turn  to  our  notes  and  inform  you,  beginning 
ten  years  back. 

"May  1,  1875. — Rained  ice  and  then  snowed. 

"May  1,  1876.— Cloudy  and  raw. 

"May  1,  1877.— Cold ;  sharp  frost  last  night. 

"May  1,  1878.— Rainy. 

"May  1,  1879.-^-Very  cold  day;  hard  frost  last  night. 

"May  1,  1880. — Fine  day  though  quite  windy. 

"May  1,  1881. — Warm  and  rainy;  lots  of  old  snow  on 
the  ground. 

"May  1,  1882.— Fair,  but  cold. 

"May  1,  1883.— Cold,  yet  quite  pleasant. 

"May  1,  1884. — Rained  in  afternoon. 

"Where  in  this  list  would  one  want  to  stick  a  May  pole? 
Yet  with  all  its  disagreeableness  our  climate  seems  to 
be  fairly  healthy  as  we  adapt  ourselves  to  it. 

"The  history  of  the  weather  for  the  past  forty  years 
would  indicate  that  it  was  disposed  to  move  in  cycles 
or  climatic  periods,  varying  in  character  and  duration. 
Thus  1844,  '51  and  '58,  every  seventh  year,  was  exces- 
sively wet,  and  people  talked  of  the  septennial  rainy  year 
as  a  regular  occurrence ;  but  we  went  from  '58  to  '69  for 
an  extremely  wet  year.  The  seventh  year  thereafter,  '76, 
could  be  numbered  with  the  wet;  and  with  the  exception 
of  '77,  it  has  been  wet  ever  since.  (This  was  written 
in  1885.) 

"Beginning  with  the  winter  of  1875  (meaning  the  win- 
ter after  January  1)  and  ending  in  '82  we  had  eight 
winters  that  alternated,  as  if  the  weather  vibrated  from 


Recollections  1837—1910  291 

cold  and  snowy  one  winter  to  soft  and  rainy  the  next; 
so,  generally  people  assumed  that  these  seasons  always 
thus  alternated.  The  winters  since  '82  have  cured  them 
of  that  notion.  Then  there  have  been  dry  and  wet  periods 
of  several  years  each.  Thus,  beginning  with  1870,  the 
dryest  year  on  our  record,  the  ground  became  gradually 
dryer,  as  evidenced  by  lowering  wells,  till  nearly  through 
'75.  In  '76  the  wells  were  filled  full,  and  they  have  so 
remained  since.  This  long  wet  period  has  caused  west- 
ern lands  to  be  productive  much  beyond  the  ordinary  rain 
limits  and  settlers  have  pushed  far  out  upon  the  desert, 
to  suffer  seriously  we  fear  when  dry  seasons  return. 

"The  most  disagreeable  wet  year  was  1851 ;  1860  was 
the  pleasantest  and  most  productive;  1870  was  the  dryest, 
and  1882  had  the  greatest  number  of  storms  of  rain  and 
snow.  The  heaviest  thunder-storm  in  our  record  began 
in  the  afternoon  of  August  18,  1850,  and  lasted,  with 
short  intermissions,  two  nights  and  a  day.  The  nearest 
approach  to  it  was  the  storm  on  the  night  of  June  29, 
1882.  The  most  unbearably  cold  day  was  January  1,  1864. 
Infernally  hot  days  have  been  too  numerous  to  mention. 
The  winter  and  spring  of  1881  gave  us  the  most  extraor- 
dinary snow-storms.  The  weather  figures  for  1882  are 
remarkable.  There  was  rain  or  snow  (more  or  less)  on 
134  days.  There  were  29  cloudy  days  without  rain,  18 
very  hot  dry  days,  17  pleasant  winter  days — except  for 
mud, — 32  clear  cold  days,  20  wind-stormy  days,  and  115 
pleasant  days.  Considering  the  extraordinary  number 
of  stormy  days  there  was  a  surprisingly  large  number 
of  the  pleasant.  1883,  with  fewer  storms,  had,  compara- 
tively, few  fine  days ;  it  was  a  decidedly  sour  year.  And 
so  we  might  go  on  giving  details  of  weather  changes  and 


292  Recollections  1837—1910 

peculiarities;  but  of  what  use?  It  will  not  help  any  one 
to  make  a  better  guess  on  the  weather  for  next  year  or 
to-morrow.  One's  conclusions  are  that  it  is  well  to  be 
prepared  in  this  section  for  all  kinds  of  weather ;  to  have 
rubber  coats,  overcoats,  dusters  and  umbrellas  always  at 
hand,  for  you  may  need  any  of  them  at  short  notice. 
Usually  one  day  is  no  indication  of  what  the  next  may  be, 
except  in  'spells ;'  then  give  heed  to  the  old  Illinois  farm- 
er's sayings:  'Whatever  kind  of  weather  we've  had  en- 
tirely too  much  of,  look  for  a  darned  sight  more  of  it,' 
and  'No  matter  how  bad  the  storms  or  the  past  records 
have  been,  our  weather  is  always  trying  to  beat  them.' " 
Of  the  weather  since  the  year  in  which  the  foregoing 
was  written  I  have  already  made  brief  mention  in  its 
order. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

CONTRASTS,  COMPARISONS  AND  CLOSING  REMARKS. 

AT  the  beginning  of  these  recollections  I  had  no  con- 
structive plan;  just  started  in  to  tell  what  I  could 
remember  of  my  life  experiences  and  observa- 
tions, intending  to  relate  only  what  might  be  interesting 
or  instructive,  and  to  be  brief  in  statement.  As  I  plodded 
along,  much  that  had  been  mentally  buried  was  revived ; 
and  when  writing  about  the  Marsh  harvester  and  our 
business  affairs  I  expanded  somewhat,  thinking  more  of 
my  family  and  friends  than  of  the  reader  outside;  thus 
this  work  has  already  reached  dimensions  not  originally 
anticipated.  I  shall  not  add  to  it  by  noticing  recent  oc- 
currences, with  which  all  should  be  as  familiar  as  I  am; 
but  will  close  by  making  a  few  contrasts  between  past 
and  present  conditions,  showing  what  wonderful  changes 
have  taken  place  during  the  span  of  a  man's  life. 

When  I  was  a  boy  old  enough  to  begin  work  on  the 
farm,  the  outfit  of  implements  consisted  of  plow,  made 
by  the  country  blacksmith,  harrow,  its  frame  of  home 
construction,  scythe,  grain  cradle  and  fanning  mill ;  and 
the  farm  tools  were  a  couple  each  of  hoes,  rakes,  and 
forks,  a  spade,  shovel,  scoop  and  grindstone — all  the  han- 
dles home-made.  The  cash  outlay  for  all  which,  exclud- 
ing the  fanning  mill,  did  not  exceed  $25.  And  when  I 
came  to  Illinois  in  1849,  the  only  improvement  was  in  the 
quality  and  finish  of  the  plow  and  the  farm  tools,  which 
by  that  time  were  factory-made,  the  drag  or  harrow  and 

293 


294  Recollections  1837—1910 

the  single  shovel  corn  plow  being  still  the  country  black- 
smith's product.  The  value  of  the  outfit,  excluding  fan- 
ning mill  as  before,  on  the  average  farm  did  not  exceed 
$50. 

Now,  for  a  farm  of  160  to  200  acres,  the  equipment  of 
machinery  and  tools  will  cost  from  $700  to  $1,000,  accord- 
ing to  selection  and  completeness,  and  will  consist  of  a 
single  and  a  gang  or  sulky  plow,  drag,  disc  harrow,  pul- 
verizer, seeder,  corn  planter,  a  couple  of  corn  cultivators, 
mower,  a  front  and  a  side  delivery  hay  rake,  hay  loader, 
horse  fork  in  barn,  harvester  and  binder,  corn  harvester, 
manure  spreader,  corn  shelter,  fanning  mill,  wind  mill 
and  cream  separator  if  cows  are  kept,  besides  the  usual 
tools — hoes,  forks,  etc. 

When  I  was  a  boy  old  enough  to  remember,  farmers' 
houses  and  the  homes  of  the  middle  class  were  lighted  by 
tallow  candles  or  grease-oil  lamps  or  by  home-made 
lamps,  constructed  by  erecting  a  cotton  cloth  wick  in  the 
center  of  a  saucer  of  lard,  and  they  were  heated  and  partly 
lighted  by  fire-places  in  which  also  the  cooking  was  done. 
A  few  heating  stoves  of  crude  construction  had  been  in- 
troduced. Our  clothes  were  mostly  from  wool,  spun, 
woven  and  made  up  in  the  house.  There  were  no  spring 
beds,  spring  couches,  nor  spring  chairs.  Floors  were 
bare,  except  in  the  "spare  rooms,"  where  they  were  cov- 
ered by  rag  carpets  or  carpets  of  home  weaving.  There 
were  no  fixed  instruments  of  music.  Bath  rooms,  such  as 
are  common  to  all  classes  of  modern  houses,  were  un- 
known then.  Farmers  and  their  families  rode  to  town  or 
to  meeting  in  lumber  wagons  or  sleighs.  In  towns  and 
cities  people  generally  walked.  Only  the  rich  could  ride 
in  carriages.  Long  journeys  were  made  on  horseback  or 


Recollections  1837—1910  295 

in  stage  coaches.  Common  schools  were  few  and  far  be- 
tween. Away  down  east  a  few  steamboats  were  running 
and  one  or  two  short  lines  of  railways  were  in  operation. 
I  was  ten  years  old  when  the  telegraph  was  first  put  to 
practical  use.  Even  then  the  day  of  steam  had  but  just 
dawned.  In  short,  the  world,  having  made  but  little  prog- 
ress in  the  practical  arts  and  in  manner  of  living  for  sev- 
eral centuries,  was  just  beginning  to  move  forward  at 
the  time  of  my  earliest  remembrance. 

Now  homes  and  buildings  in  cities  and  towns  are  nearly 
all  lighted  by  gas  or  electricity ;  many  farm  houses  are  thus 
lighted,  and  kerosene,  which  makes  as  good  a  light  as 
any,  is  within  the  reach  of  the  poorest.  Farm  houses  as 
well  as  city  and  town  residences,  are  evenly  and  comfort- 
ably heated  by  various  modern  appliances.  Clothes  are 
made  in  shops  devoted  to  such  work.  Fine  and  luxurious 
furniture  and  "boughten"  carpets  are  in  common  use. 
The  tinkle  of  the  piano  is  heard  in  houses  of  all  classes. 
Good  schools  are  free  to  all.  Everybody  rides  and  rapidly 
nowadays,  whether  going  far  or  near,  in  steam  cars 
steamboats,  trolley  cars  and  autos.  Even  the  farmer,  after 
long  indulging  himself  and  family  in  the  luxury  of  a  fine 
carriage,  thinks  himself  rich  enough,  occasionally,  to  own 
and  enjoy  an  auto.  The  telephone  is  in  almost  every 
house,  the  phonograph  is  nearly  as  common,  and  the  fly- 
ing machine  is  holding  out  wonderful  possibilities.  Most 
of  these  improvements  and  advances,  especially  those 
last  mentioned,  were  undreamed  of  when  I  was  a  boy. 
In  short,  the  average  man  to-day  enjoys  more  comforts 
and  luxuries,  sees  more  and  has  more  opportunities  for 
obtaining  knowledge  than  the  richest  noble,  seventy  years 
ago. 


296  Recollections  1837—1910 

When  I  was  a  boy  a  man  worth  $10,000  was  consid- 
ered quite  rich,  one  worth  $100,000  was  almost  "out  of 
sight,"  and  a  millionaire  was  a  rare  being  of  whom  we 
sometimes  heard,  but  whom  we  never  expected  to  see — 
he  was  so  remote  and  so  exalted.  Now  an  estate  of 
$10,000  is  a  mere  bagatelle,  fortunes  of  $100,000  are  so 
numerous  that  the  possessors  go  unnoticed,  and  million- 
aires are  so  common  that  they  attract  no  particular  atten- 
tion. Multi-millionaires  are  generally  products  of  our 
large  cities,  of  New  York  especially,  and,  as  a  class,  are 
held  in  low  estimation  on  account  of  the  crooked  ways  in 
which  most  of  them  have  obtained  their  enormous  hold- 
ings. When  I  came  into  this  county,  not  half  a  dozen 
men  in  it  were  worth  $10,000,  now  hundreds  are  worth 
$100,000,  and  there  are  quite  a  number  of  millionaires — 
half  a  dozen  of  them  in  this  town  of  DeKalb. 

And  now  with  such  wonderful  improvement  in  the  way 
of  living  and  such  great  increase  in  wealth,  are  our  people 
any  better  or  happier?  Not  much,  if  any,  I  think.  Bet- 
ter education  and  the  greater  advantages  enjoyed  have 
increased  the  knowledge  and  improved  the  manners  of 
our  men,  making  them  gentler  toward  each  other  and 
more  disposed  to  act — especially  in  bodies — for  the  relief 
of  the  weak  and  unfortunate.  But  have  these  advantages 
made  them  more  honorable,  more  truthful,  more  moral 
or  more  contented?  It  does  not  so  appear.  Unrest  and 
extravagance  are  general.  The  greed  for  gain  has  grown 
with  our  progress.  There  is  no  "wealth  beyond  the 
dreams  of  avarice,"  of  our  money  getters;  and  some  of 
them  are  such  fools  that  they  shorten  their  lives  in  stren- 
uous efforts  to  gain  more  after  having  obtained  more 
than  enough.  Never  before  in  the  history  of  our  coun- 


Recollections  1837—1910  297 

try  was  there  a  time  when  dishonesty  and  crime,  official 
turpitude  and  political  corruption  were  more  prevalent 
or  when  the  people  have  had  greater  reason  to  cry  out 
against  the  exactions  of  trusts,  monopolies  and  specu- 
lators and  against  the  many  adulterations  foisted  upon 
them,  including  the  published  news.  Dollars  and  votes 
have  become  the  chief  objects  of  pursuit,  and  they  are 
as  often  attained  by  devious  ways  as  by  the  straight.  The 
man  of  money  has  taken  precedence  of  the  man  of  brains 
or  genius;  hence  we  have  so  many  who  are  great  in 
wealth  and  so  few  who  are  great  in  literature  or  states- 
manship. It  was  the  reverse  in  the  days  of  my  youth. 
When  Jay  Gould  and  Jim  Fisk  cornered  gold  and  pre- 
cipitated the  "Black  Friday"  panic,  and  when  they  finan- 
cially wrecked  the  Erie  railroad,  our  people  were  shocked 
and  demanded  that  the  scoundrels  be  summarily  punished. 
In  later  years  such  performances  became  so  common  as  to 
blunt  our  sense  of  honor.  But  we  may  now  hope  for 
better  things,  as  a  result  of  the  campaign  for  reformation 
recently  opened. 

Women  are  better  educated  and  more  companionable; 
but  they  are  also  more  restless,  more  extravagant  and 
less  devoted  to  home  duties  than  they  were  when  I  was 
young;  and  some  of  them  are  loudly  clamoring  for  the 
ballot.  The  average  woman,  however,  doesn't  want  it. 
She  knows  that  her  rights  are  well  protected,  and  she 
does  not  wish  to  soil  herself  with  the  mud  of  politics.  I 
can  recollect  of  only  one  woman,  in  ordinary  life,  who  in 
my  hearing  expressed  any  anxiety  to  vote.  She  was  a 
widow,  the  possessor  of  considerable  property,  and  she 
was  grumbling  about  her  taxes.  Her  contention  that 
unmarried  women,  possessing  taxable  property,  have  a 


298  Recollections  1837—1910 

better  right  to  the  ballot  than  men  having  no  taxable 
property,  was  logical.  But  opening  the  already  too  open 
polls  to  women  at  large  would  increase  the  political  con- 
fusion and,  possibly,  the  corruption.  Generally,  womanly 
women  would  not  avail  themselves  of  the  privilege.  Be- 
sides, divorces  are  frequent  enough  without  introducing 
the  disturbing  element  of  political  strife  into  the  house- 
hold. Nature  made  woman  weaker,  physically  and  men- 
tally, than  man,  and  also  better  and  more  refined.  Man, 
compared  with  her,  is  coarse,  strong  and  aggressive.  By 
confining  themselves  to  the  duties  for  which  nature  has 
prepared  them,  respectively,  the  better  they  will  harmon- 
ize. Let  her  stay  in ;  let  him  go  out. 

The  children  of  the  much  smaller  families  of  this  gen- 
eration are  more  carefully  raised  and  have  far  greater 
opportunities ;  yet  they  are  not  so  well  disciplined,  not  so 
obedient,  not  so  steady  and  purposeful  as  were  the  chil- 
dren of  the  larger  families  of  their  grandparents.  Many 
of  the  boys  seem  to  be  imbued  with  the  idea  that  success 
in  life  is  best  attained  by  beating  it  out  of  others;  and 
the  girls  are  too  generally  averse  to  home  work. 

When  I  was  young  few  girls  remained  unmarried.  Now 
young  men  shirk  the  responsibilities  of  marriage,  because 
of  the  high  cost  of  living,  and  because  of  the  various 
easily  obtained  enjoyments  of  modern  life  as  single,  with 
the  result  that  girls  are  largely  thrown  upon  their  own 
resources,  and  offices,  stores,  etc.,  are  full  of  well  edu- 
cated young  women  who  ably  and  faithfully  perform 
their  duties,  thus  demonstrating  their  capacity  to  manage 
homes  of  their  own,  if  they  had  them. 

Everything  considered,  the  great  advances  made  have 
not  been  altogether  beneficial  to  home  life  and  to  society 


Recollections  1837—1910  299 

in  general.  As  already  stated,  people  now  are  much 
wiser  and  are  provided  with  more  comforts  and  enjoy- 
ments than  they  were  at  the  beginning  of  this  progressive 
period,  but  they  are  not  more  contented,  not  happier  and 
not  much,  if  any,  better.  They  have  not  grown  beyond 
the  need  of  the  moral,  restraining  and  consoling  influences 
of  genuine  religion  whatever  may  be  its  articles  of  faith. 
The  religion  that  leads  one  to  be  kind,  helpful  and  provi- 
dent, to  seek  success  without  trespassing  upon  the  rights 
of  others  and  to  make  reparation  if  wrong  be  done,  is  a 
pretty  good  religion  and  its  rewards  accompany  its  prac- 
tice. 

And  here  I  rest,  trusting  that  these  recollections  and 
observations  will  not  be  as  tiresome  to  the  readers  as 
they  have  been  to  me.  I  fully  realize  that  I  am  an  old 
man.  I  have  witnessed  and  participated  in  a  greater  ad- 
vance of  practical  civilization  than  had  been  made  in  all 
the  ages  before ;  but  I  have  drawn  aside  and  will  not  see 
much  more  of  it,  because  for  me  the  lights  will  be  turned 
off  soon.  The  friends  and  associates  of  "my  day  and 
generation"  are  nearly  all  dead.  I  am  well  along  in  the 
evening  of  life  and  the  night  of  death  is  near.  But  its 
approach  does  not  worry  me.  One  should  calmly  face 
the  inevitable. 

My  years  are  now  several  beyond  the  number  allotted 
to  man,  yet  I  am  healthy  and  vigorous,  mainly  because 
I  have  been  temperate  and  always  active.  Despite  the 
struggles  and  losses  and  sorrows,  my  life  has  been  well 
worth  the  living,  and  I  feel  that  I  have  not  done  so  badly 
but  that  there  will  be  something  to  my  credit  on  the  bal- 
ance sheet  of  good  and  ill.  "So  mote  it  be." 


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